Lebanese Boxing Champion Murdered in Vancouver

An expat Lebanese boxer has been murdered in the Canadian city of Vancouver and the motives are likely sport-related, a media report said on Saturday.

“Alaeddine Ramadan, a 20-year-old boxing champion in the Canadian city of Vancouver, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds on Wednesday night,” LBCI TV reported.

“Local authorities believe that the shooting was premeditated,” it said.

Speaking to LBCI, a black-clad Lebanese woman said “a car passed near him at 10:30 pm and they shot him dead with three bullets.”

“He won five matches as the champion of Vancouver and he had been supposed to participate in a sixth match during these 10 days,” the woman added.

“Ahead of the sixth match, he was killed at the door as he left the sports club,” she went on to say.

Some sources have said that the likely motive behind the crime was preventing Alaeddine from winning the Vancouver boxing championship, LBCI said in its report.

Canada's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has taken over the case, according to the official Canadian Press news agency.

IHIT spokeswoman Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound said in a release that Ramadan did not have a criminal record, but investigators “believe it to be a targeted shooting.”

Three males were spotted fleeing the scene in a compact car and Pound said the driver was described as a Persian male.

“He appeared clean-cut and was wearing dark clothing,” she said.

“The other two suspects were also wearing dark clothing and had large builds. They were described as over six feet tall and muscular,” Pound added.

Y.R.