Halifax convenience store owner got chilling visit from regular customer after suspicious death

HALIFAX -- Halifax Regional Police remained on scene Wednesday of what they're calling a suspicious death in the city's south end.

A 61-year-old man died in an apartment building on Morris Street on Tuesday, but the incident seems to have unfolded over a much larger area.

Mustafa Khallaf is the owner of a convenience store a block away from the rooming house where the death occurred and he says he had an unusual visit from a regular customer on Tuesday afternoon.

"He came in and he just asked me straight, 'Can he call the cops?'" said Khallaf.

It was the last thing he expected to hear from a regular customer in his convenience store on Birmingham Street, but he quickly complied and made the call.

It was just after 3 p.m. when officers converged on an older apartment building a block away and confirmed the worst.

"Upon arrival, our officers located two injured males at that location," said Halifax Regional Police spokesperson Const. John MacLeod. "A 61-year-old male, unfortunately succumbed to his injuries and died at the scene."

The second man, aged 71, was seriously injured and taken to hospital.

Police won't say if he's technically in custody.

Much of the neighbourhood was cordoned off, including the direct route to the convenience store.

Stepping out for groceries on Wednesday, Tyler Dougherty was surprised to be met by officers when he left his basement apartment.

"There was tape stretching the whole length of Birmingham Street and it extended down to the corner of Morris," said Dougherty. "There was yellow markers all through the street."

Markers indicating drops of blood were still visible on Wednesday.

All of this is deeply unsettling for Allie Fineberg, who walks past the building twice a day, to and from her store.

"You get to know the people that are sitting on the steps, just to say, 'Hello', and it just makes me wonder which one of them might not be here this morning," said Fineberg.

It's a sentiment shared up the street at the convenience store, where Khallaf now reflects on ordinary interactions with a regular customer.

"He doesn't talk much," Khallaf says. "He comes in and buys his smokes, and sometimes he gets drinks, and he just leaves."

Police haven't released any names yet, and there's no word on possible charges. They do say they aren't looking for any suspects.

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  Mustafa Khallaf is the owner of a convenience store a block away from the rooming house where the death occurred and he had an unusual visit from a regular customer on Tuesday afternoon.