As an intense manhunt continues for the killer or killers of a Brampton teenager, his family and friends mourn a young life senselessly cut short by a bullet.

“Alex was my pride and joy and everything that I lived for. Why would anyone do such a horrifying thing to such a nice kid?” Alex Masih’s grieving dad, Caneth, said in a statement yesterday.
Alex Masih, 16, who had hoped to be an accountant one day, was shot dead outside a Collins Crescent townhouse complex early Saturday morning, just steps from the wall of the complex’s Woodhaven Recreation Centre.

His family believes he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they say they are “confident that the coward or cowards who perpetrated this disgusting act will be brought to justice.”

Peel police homicide investigators are working around the clock and are staying mum on details of the murder, focusing their investigation on trying to figure out who killed the young man, and why. They are appealing for witnesses.

The sound of gunfire reverberated through the Kennedy Road/Williams Parkway neighbourhood around 12:35 a.m. Saturday, triggering calls to Peel police.

When officers arrived, they found Masih suffering from a single gunshot wound. He was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead soon after.

His devastated family is now left to come to grips with his death and plan his funeral, which will be held Friday at St. Paul’s United Church on Main Street South.

Masih was a student at Central Peel Secondary School and was to begin Grade 11 studies next month. He spent the day Friday with his father at work, helping out, and went out that night, according to his family. He was just two streets away from home when he was shot dead.

Police have no one under arrest for his killing, but his family says they are encouraged by police efforts to solve the murder.

Masih was born in Toronto, but grew up in Brampton. He had only just moved with his family to the central Brampton neighbourhood last November. Although he was new to the neighbourhood, he had plenty of friends from school and was remembered by many as a teen with a sense of humour and a quick smile.

He loved to play basketball, according to his father, and even coached other kids at his school.
His family and friends describe him as a big-hearted teen who always had a smile and would do anything to help others.
“Alex was aspiring to be an accountant and was really looking forward to having a family of his own someday,” said the teen’s girlfriend, Tanika, who did not want her last name used.
Other friends described him as loyal, generous and caring.

“Whenever I needed him, he would be there for me,” said long-time friend Kevin.
“Anybody that Alex met could tell you that he treated them with kindness and respect no matter who you were and this is why so many people are affected by his tragic death,” said another of his long-time friends.

Residents in the neighbourhood where the shooting happened said Masih was one of a few dozen “regulars” who would hang around the recreation complex at all hours of the night.
They said the shooting was unsettling, but not surprising, given the growing number of teens loitering around the centre late at night.

“They smoke joints, they swear ... they cause all kinds of problems,” said Violet, a centre employee. “The parents are scared to bring their kids here for karate lessons.”
Like nearly everyone spoken to in the blue-collar neighbourhood soon after the murder, Violet declined to give her last name. But after five years of working at the centre, she said she has watched the problems grow. Fights and robberies are not uncommon, she said.
“(The problems) were mild before but now it’s getting worse,” she said. “It’s all getting out of hand.”

Police are asking for help from any witnesses or anyone with information. Homicide investigators can be reached at 905-453-2121, ext. 3205, or call anonymously with a tip to Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Viewing for Masih will be tomorrow, 2-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. at Ward’s Funeral Home on Main Street South. A funeral will be held at St. Paul’s Church just north of the funeral home at 11 a.m. Friday.
The family is asking that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to UNICEF. The charity was chosen because his father said he had talked to his son in the past about what he would do if he won $1 million. Alex had said he would want to help less fortunate children, donating some of it to UNICEF.