Most Wanted - The Hunt for Kiarash Parzham & Mohamed Shire | 11
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Hey, it's Nancy. Before we begin today, I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Crime Beat early and ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Why are there ridges on Reese's peanut butter cups? Probably so they never slip from her hands. Could you imagine? I'd lose it. Luckily, Reese's thought about that. Wonder what else they think about. Probably chocolate and peanut butter.

Hey, it's Nancy Hixt, reporter and host of Crime Beat. I hope you're enjoying Crime Beat Most Wanted. I'm working on so many intriguing stories, including a case that was a true whodunit that took place in the popular resort town of Banff. I'll share how the case went cold despite tireless efforts to track the killer.

This story, and so many others, will be available starting mid-February of 2025. I hope you'll join me then for a brand new season of Crime Beat. A listener's note. The following episode contains coarse language, adult themes, and content of a violent and disturbing nature, and may not be suitable for everyone. Listener discretion is advised.

While Torontonians enjoyed a late spring evening in a busy midtown neighborhood, shots rang out, taking the life of a 28-year-old man. Police investigating after a fatal shooting outside of a North York subway station. Paramedics providing life-saving measures, but unfortunately he was pronounced dead at the scene.

In Ottawa, a shopping plaza becomes a bloody crime scene as three brothers are gunned down. You can hear just the volume of gunfire, which is probably the most shocking aspect of this case is the amount of rounds that were fired. I'm Tracy Tong, and this is Crime Beat Most Wanted, a podcast that takes you inside open investigations of serious crimes in the hopes your tips lead police to justice.

Today, I'm joined by Karen Lieberman to share the stories of two separate brazen murders that have police looking for two men they say are on the run. This is The Hunt for Kiarash Parzam and Mohamed Shire. In Midtown Toronto, Yonge and Shepherd is a bustling neighborhood filled with commercial and residential high-rises, restaurants, and a subway station.

When night comes, the foot traffic doesn't stop, like on the warm night of June 15, 2022. There were a number of people out and about in the area, socializing with friends, walking, attending stores in the area.

That's Toronto Police Detective Jeff Allington with the Homicide Unit. He says that just after 10 o'clock, gunfire pierced through the streets. Police respond to the area. They locate the victim on the ground. There were a number of witnesses that saw or heard what had occurred. They all described someone who had been shot.

Police investigating after a fatal shooting outside of a North York subway station. Paramedics providing life-saving measures, but unfortunately he was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect was in a vehicle that had then fled westbound along Harlanddale. The victim was identified as 28-year-old Kian Hosseini. He had been out with some friends earlier in the night who were able to identify him, and as well his vehicle was parked close by in the area.

My main two priorities at any homicide investigation are video and witnesses. They are generally the things that assist us the most. Our forensic identification unit is excellent at collecting the evidence, but getting eyewitnesses in for statements is one of the big priorities. Witnesses describe the shooting. So the woman was standing about 10 to 20 feet away from the victim when he was shot.

Police say the suspect fired from inside a vehicle.

We just had a description of a vehicle that we were looking for, a gray Hyundai Tucson. It's a 2014 model with Ontario license plate CVBA460. The suspect was not in lawful possession of that vehicle. Detectives don't know why Hosseini was killed here, but they do believe it was planned after retracing his final steps.

Our victim is having dinner inside this restaurant right here and he's on his cell phone throughout the night and he takes a phone call just after 10 o'clock and he walks out the restaurant on the route that we're walking now. So it prompts him to leave the restaurant? The message prompts him to leave the restaurant and he steps out and walks south on Yonge Street and then turns west along Harlanddale. As he rounds the corner he's still on his phone and he's clearly looking around to meet up with somebody.

and as he approaches the vehicle, he is shot by the suspect. After the shots are fired, our victim runs into the laneway behind the Young Shepherd subway station, and then the suspect vehicle pulls out and it travels west down Harlanddale towards Beecroft, and that's the direction it flees the scene from. It was on the news already. It had gotten out, but somehow our family was the only one that was left in the dark. He passed away on the 15th at 10:10 p.m., and we found out on the 16th

I was the first one to find out and the detectives showed up at our door. That's Hosseini's older sister. We have agreed not to identify her or her family. She says she was home alone with her young child when she heard a knock on the door. At first I thought this was a big joke, a prank, and I was like, where are the cameras? What's going on?

I never imagined I would get that knock on that door. The detective said, "Is it okay if we come in? Is your dad around? Can you contact him?" It was the worst moment of my life when my daughter called me. Kian passed away. They tried to cool me down first. At that moment, you can't believe it. And then I asked them why and they said, "And who did it?" They had no clue.

Never in a million years would my family have thought that first of all, we would lose him and second of all, to a shooting, come on. I mean, you hear about this in movies, you hear about this from other people, but you never expect in a million years that it's going to happen to your own family, especially my own brother. It just didn't make sense. I couldn't process it. Investigators canvassed the area surrounding the crime scene for surveillance video in hopes it will lead them to a suspect.

In this case, we tracked the suspect vehicle from the area of Yonge and Shepherd to the area of Keele and Eglinton. It took 10 days. When we were able to track it to a location where the vehicle was abandoned, we were able to get some clear video of who had been driving the vehicle. As he exited the vehicle, his face is caught on camera and we were able to identify him.

Through the investigation, the Toronto Police Service Homicide and Missing Persons Unit has identified 30-year-old Kirash Parzam as the person responsible for this murder. And he is going to be charged with first-degree murder. What did you learn about Kirash Parzam? So Kirash Parzam is a 30-year-old male. He was born in Iran and at some point in his life when he was much younger, he immigrated to Canada. He grew up in Richmond Hill.

Parzam was known to police, previously convicted of drug and weapons offenses. And detectives discover that Parzam and Hosseini knew each other. They grew up in the same area in Richmond Hill, and I believe they attended the same school together. Police don't know why Parzam allegedly targeted Hosseini, but they uncover that he took a trip to get here.

We have the belief that he was in British Columbia prior to the murder and came back to Ontario. And it's my belief that he may have fled to British Columbia after the murder. Hasn't been seen since? He has not been seen since.

Nine months after the murder, Qarash Parzam is in full sight, as his face stares out of bus shelters, billboards, and through leaflets in the Greater Toronto Area as part of Bolo's 2023 campaign. He's charged with the gravest crime in our criminal code, taking the life of another human being. Furthermore, he's considered armed and dangerous.

Investigators say Parzam has several distinct features. He has tattoos on his left upper arm. Closer to his upper shoulder, he has a clown face with a cigar. Slightly below that is a second clown face. And then in red around his left elbow, he has some flowers. And then on his right hand, he has a very small tattoo on his middle finger with some writing on it.

He committed a murder involving a firearm that hasn't been recovered. He's still out there. It was a very brazen shooting that occurred and it concerns me that it could happen again with him being out and on the loose in a firearm, still being out and on the loose and not recovered.

Investigators are asking you to be on the lookout for Kirash Parzam. He is described as 6 feet tall or 183 centimeters. He has brown hair and brown eyes and weighs around 180 pounds or 82 kilograms. He has also gone by the names Kia Parzam and Steve Parada. If you have any information on his whereabouts, call Crime Stoppers.

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When a body is discovered 10 miles out to sea, it sparks a mind-blowing police investigation. There's a man living in this address in the name of deceased. He's one of the most wanted men in the world. This isn't really happening. Officers finding large sums of money. It's a tale of murder, skullduggery and international intrigue. So who really is he?

I'm Sam Mullins, and this is Sea of Lies from CBC's Uncover. Available now. The other case we're sharing is about a suspect who allegedly turned an Ottawa shopping plaza into a battleground. It's where three brothers were shot, two of them dead. Mohamed Shire is one of Canada's most wanted, and police are asking for your help in tracking him down.

Every spring, Ottawa comes alive with the world's largest tulip festival. More than a million bulbs are planted to celebrate peace. On May 28, 2021, in a family neighborhood just 10 minutes from where these flowers bloom, that calm is shattered with a horrific sound. It's rapid at parts and slower at other parts.

But you can hear just the volume of gunfire, which is probably the most shocking aspect of this case, is the amount of rounds that were fired in a neighborhood like that at that time of day. At 7 p.m., homicide detective Chris O'Brien is called to Alta Vista, a residential area just east of the Rideau River. I was advised that we had a double homicide.

Two men are pronounced dead at the scene. A third is rushed to hospital.

We were looking at this as a double homicide, attempt homicide investigation right out of the gate. Marty Carr is the Ottawa City Councillor for Alta Vista and says the brazen attack hit close to home for many.

I remember hearing that it happened at the Plaza in Alta Vista. To have that happen in the community, it can be really disconcerting. Just even imagining what if I had gone to the store several times and that's what we heard over and over again was many people saying I was just about to go there, I had just come from there and sort of the realization that these things can happen so close to home.

Here's Ottawa Police Detective Sergeant Chris O'Brien with the Homicide Unit in an interview with Karen Lieberman. He remembers what the scene was like on the day of the shooting.

This parking lot would have been packed with people coming and going. Yeah, much like it is today, you see a lot of cars parked here. It's pretty much like this at any time of day. It's always busy. There's businesses that are open late here. So yeah, it's a busy parking lot that sees a lot of vehicle and pedestrian traffic throughout the day. And the Land Rover was parked around here? Yeah, it was parked right in this area here, backed in with the tail towards the street. And that's where it was at the time of the shooting. Where did the suspect vehicle come from?

Came in from that direction over there from around the Tim Hortons. It came in and parked in nose in next to the vehicle that our victims were in. And then the shooting took place shortly thereafter. And then that vehicle left.

out that way through the parking lot and headed towards the highway. There is high rises, a dentist's office, there's homes, so there would have been video surveillance. A number of the homes that were located on the street here did have home security systems as well as some of the businesses and we were able to send our officers and video technicians to those locations to recover those videos. One of those cameras captures the sound of rapid gunfire. 24 rounds in total can be heard.

One man survives and tells detectives the two men who didn't are his brothers. They were all initially in their vehicle. There was a white Land Rover that was parked in that parking lot. One of the brothers, Mohammed, when he was shot, he was still inside of the vehicle. Same with Fawaz. When he was shot, he was able to escape the vehicle and run away.

And there was the other brother, Abdulaziz Abdullah. He was outside of the vehicle, we believe, when he was shot.

They were there to meet with one of the suspects and that the other two suspects showed up in another vehicle. Those two individuals arrived, engaged verbally with the brothers initially, and then shortly thereafter produced firearms and began to open fire on the brothers. So this was a targeted hit? Yes, we believe so, that this was a planned, deliberate, targeted hit that was done.

A car flees the scene and police find it abandoned in Ottawa's West End. They identify and charge three suspects, each with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Mohammed Shire was from Toronto and we believe him to be one of the shooters in this case. And the other fellow that was with him was an Ahmed Syed, also of the Toronto area, who we believe was one of the other shooters. And then the last person is an Abdullahi Ousman. He's from Ottawa but has connections between Ottawa and Toronto and we believe he was involved in the setting up of the incident.

About nine months after the murder, one of the suspects is arrested at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. We were able to arrest Mr. Oseman just moments before he was about to board a flight to head to Ethiopia and ultimately Somalia. About two months later, police announce a second arrest.

Mr. Syed, he was located in Regina. Drug unit was executing a search warrant on an apartment in that city. Mr. Syed had been one of the people inside the apartment at the time that their unit was executing the warrant. And he actually climbed out onto a balcony and was attempting to scale down balconies to escape the police, but slipped and fell and was very, very badly injured. Leaving Muhammad Shire as the sole outstanding suspect in the case.

What do we know about him? He was sort of an unknown person to the Ottawa Police Service. He didn't really have much of a history here in this city. We believe he came here specifically for the purpose of committing this crime. We do believe that all of these individuals were known to each other, some more so than others. But yes, these were all people who would have known and interacted with each other previously.

In downtown Toronto, police hope his life-size cutout gets recognized. We partnered with the BOLO program in 2023. Ottawa Police Service had never had someone featured on that program before, and I thought this would be like an excellent program for us to, as an organization, to get on board with.

Did it help? It did. We did receive some tips that we followed up on. Unfortunately, those tips just didn't materialize in an arrest, but still gave us hope and confidence that he is around and that he can be caught. Now, putting money on the table. And this year, the program is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and capture of Mr. Shire.

Police are asking you to be on the lookout for Muhammad Shire. Muhammad Shire is 6'2" or 188 centimeters. He has black hair and brown eyes and weighs around 150 pounds or 68 kilograms. He is wanted for two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Police say he has connections in the Greater Toronto Area. If you have any information on his whereabouts, call Crime Stoppers. And remember, it's anonymous. A few miles from the glass spires of midtown Atlanta lies the South River Forest. In 2021 and 2022, the woods became a home to activists from all over the country who gathered to stop the nearby construction of a massive new police training facility, nicknamed Cop City.

At approximately 9 o'clock this morning, as law enforcement was moving through various sectors of the property, an individual, without warning, shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper.

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A pair of brothers shot dead in the heart of a quiet, family-friendly neighborhood in Ottawa. Two men have been arrested and charged, but one is outstanding. It just speaks to the level of danger that these individuals that are involved in an incident like this pose to the general public. In Toronto, a 28-year-old man senselessly murdered just steps from a subway station. His accused killer yet to be arrested.

From the time that he exits the restaurant to the time that he is shot would have been less than a minute. We know who committed this murder. We are just looking to go and arrest him. I would encourage whoever is assisting or harboring Kiarash Parzam to do the right thing to contact police and turn Kiarash Parzam in.

The trail for him has gone cold in that we haven't been able to locate him, but we aren't looking for anybody else. We are looking for Kirash Parzam, and we are hoping that we can find him and bring some closure to the family in this case. Similarly, in Ottawa, Detective O'Brien suspects Mohammed Shire, facing two murder charges and an attempted murder charge, has help.

There are people out there that have information that know where he is right now. And we do believe he is still in Canada or in North America. And that there are people out there that are likely assisting him or know of his whereabouts and are just not coming forward with that information. The family of Kian Hosseini, also anxious for an arrest. I'm so grateful for these photos. These photos are like a lottery ticket.

win for me now. This was the most recent picture of him. I feel like Kion lived his life for people and not himself. He was an angel on earth and I want people to know that he is not just a number and he is not what happened to him. He is actually far from what happened to him. That's not his legacy. That's not who he was. I look at him like a kid always, but out there he was a very, very, you know, mature

positive person, helpful. I'm really, really proud of him. I'm really, really, you know, mad, sad, you know, to lose him like this very soon. His father sends this message to his son's accused killer. I want him just go to look at the mirror and think about what you did. Just I want you to know that you didn't kill Kian. You killed all of us.

Kirash Parzam and Mohammed Shire are both considered armed and dangerous. If you have any information, Crime Stoppers is waiting for your anonymous call at 1-800-222-TIPS. That's 1-800-222-8477. Or you can submit a tip online. We'll include this information in our show notes. You can also watch our docu-series, Crime Beat Most Wanted, on YouTube, where you can see the suspects still at large.

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Thank you for listening. Crime Beat Most Wanted is hosted by me, Tracy Tong. Reporting in this episode is Karen Lieberman. Adapted to podcast by our senior producer, Dila Velasquez. With help from associate producer, Elizabeth Sargent. Audio and sound design by Rob Johnson. Please tell a friend about this podcast. And if you can consider rating and reviewing Crime Beat Most Wanted on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

Thanks again for listening and join me next time on Crime Beat Most Wanted.