As Police Search for a Killer, Kamloops Remembers Ash Zafar

[Editor’s note: This story has been adapted from one originally published on Kamloops local news site the Wren. You can read that story here.]

Two weeks after Muhammad “Ash” Zafar was found dead in his Kamloops home, friends and community members continue to mourn him while hoping his killer will be found.

Zafar’s death has rattled Kamloops’ LGBTQ+ community and prompted a warning from the city’s police force for gay men using online dating apps. The warning followed an initial statement suggesting there was no public threat, and the quick reversal has led to questions and uncertainty.

But beyond the fear, Zafar’s friends and colleagues are remembering a man they say was warm, kind, charismatic and magnetic.

“He had none of that famous Vancouver standoffishness that I was used to,” co-worker Tiffany Wong said. “He was quick to welcome and quick to be friends. It's a rare skill for someone to be able to make such fast friends with everyone.”

Zafar’s body was found in his apartment in Kamloops’ west end on Jan. 5 after police had been called to the home for a wellness check. The RCMP quickly classified the death as a homicide but initially said the “circumstances appear to be isolated, and there is no indication of any ongoing risk to the public.”

However, a day later the RCMP asked the public for more information, while urging people to be careful, especially those using men-seeking-men dating apps.

“There is a threat to the public with respect to an individual who is under investigation for an act of homicide,” RCMP Supt. Jeff Pelley said at a press conference.

Police have not yet made an arrest. They have declined to say whether they have identified a suspect while encouraging the public to report any information they might have, including “anyone who noticed unusual behaviour in someone they know, such as unexplained injuries, sudden changes in routine, cancelled plans or conduct that seemed out of character.”

Kamloops Pride released a statement expressing condolences for Zafar’s loss while repeating the RCMP’s warning.

On Saturday, dozens gathered in the cold to hold a candlelight vigil to remember Zafar, who had moved to Kamloops in June and immediately made an impression on new friends and co-workers.

Myles Savoie, a friend and co-worker, told those gathered at the vigil that Zafar will leave a legacy as a “champion for diversity and inclusion.” Savoie and Zafar had worked together at Teck Resources, where Zafar sat on the employee-led 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion network. Zafar had immigrated to Canada from Pakistan and was a “newer Canadian,” Savoie said. In Kamloops, he immediately started making friends.

“Comments that... Ash was a nice person do not capture the millionth of who Ash was,” Savoie said.

Savoie’s wife Nina said Zafar was a skilled cook who loved to host dinners at his home and whose hospitality reflected his personality.

“I think about it often: him standing at the stove, smiling, ladling the tea over and over,” she said. “When we sat down to drink, we commented that he didn't have a cup, and he mentioned he wasn't going to drink any because he had to work the next day and had to get some sleep. We said, ‘But you went through all that effort of making it.’

“He just smiled at us and said, ‘I wanted you to enjoy it.’”

For the wider Kamloops community, the killing — and the police communication that followed — has stoked anxiety, according to Alix Dolson, the agency co-ordinator at the Kamloops Sexual Assault Counselling Centre.

“Kamloops is a relatively small community, and this isn't the sort of crime or event that we have happening with any sort of regularity,” Dolson said.

The change in police messaging — from the initial statements declaring there to be no public threat to the warning to queer men who use online dating apps a day later — has been widely questioned.

“The way that the information has been shared publicly and come about through the police warnings has also exacerbated that fear,” Dolson said. “I understand the police’s motivation to keep folks calm, to not escalate concern or fear in the community. But that information was given prematurely.”

She hopes police will rethink how they communicate about such threats in the future — and recognize the need to disclose threats that may apply to only a segment of residents.

“For the average citizen in Kamloops who is a straight white person, maybe there isn’t a public risk that is ongoing at this time, if that’s who the police are speaking to,” she said. “But there was a public risk and there continues to be a public risk for particular communities. I think the police have realized, ‘We actually need to communicate to keep those communities safe as well.’”

In an email to The Tyee, RCMP spokesperson Dana Napier said the first statement “reflected the best information available at that early stage” but that new information revealed the need for additional safety messaging.

“The sexual orientation of individuals involved in our investigations plays no role in determining how or when public appeals or warnings are disseminated,” Napier wrote. “In this particular case, that information was included in the second release because investigators were seeking to reach a specific demographic that may have had relevant information, and this was done in consultation with the victim’s family.”

Zafar’s killing has led some to engage in victim blaming, Dolson said. But she stressed that online dating is a common part of life for people from various backgrounds and that violence also exists in all types of relationships.

“The conversation we need to be happening is ‘How do we keep people safe?’”

But Dolson said she has been heartened by the community response since Zafar’s death and the support shown for his loved ones. At Saturday’s vigil, she and others listened as Zafar’s friends talked about the impact of their friend’s loss — and how his memory will live on.

Zafar’s loss “has shaken us to the core,” co-worker and friend Ian McElmoyle said.

But he said his friend would have wanted those he left behind to live their lives the way he lived his.

“Ash was joy. Ash was kindness. Ash was compassion. Ash was courage.”

You can read more about Zafar in the Wren's piece here.