Ottawa man killed in Toronto robbery did not die in vain, father says

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A few years ago, when Zack Noureddine was a journalism student at Algonquin College, he travelled to Lebanon. The ostensible purpose of the trip was to visit grandparents and other relatives whom he’d never seen before, but he was also nurturing his journalistic ambitions by seeing the war-torn country first hand.

One day, while taking a cab in Beirut, he got caught in crossfire between rival militant groups. He emerged unscathed, although a bullet smashed the lens of the camera hanging around his neck.

Late last week, 25-year-old Zaher (Zack) Noureddine died on a Toronto street, the victim of a violent robbery. He’d just concluded a business meeting at a Yonge Street bar when he and his companion were jumped on the street by three young men who’d targeted the two well-dressed men. Zack died a few hours later in hospital, the result, it appears, of a blow to the back his head that caused massive bleeding in his brain.

On Sunday, at an Ottawa wake for the young man, his father, Hassan Noureddine, recounted the Lebanon incident by way of illustrating his son’s character as well as his ambition. “The energy he had was tremendous. He was always restless, always wanting to know things, do things.”

The judgment was likely shared by many of the 200 or so people who turned out for the wake. Some had known Zack since childhood. They described him variously as creative, ambitious and imaginative, yet also down-to-earth, a good friend, kind-hearted, someone willing to help others.

“I remember one time this party at his place and how he was surrounded by friends, friends who wanted to be around him,” said Peter Jeon, a neighbourhood friend of the family who knew Noureddine as a boy. “That was him, he was very popular. There was nothing dark about him. He was someone people liked.”

a-photo-of-the-noureddine-family-with-zackwho-was-robbed-an.jpeg

A photo of the Noureddine family, with Zack in the back.


“He was one of the most down-to-earth guys I’ve known, very caring and giving,” said Abdi Awaleh, who worked with Noureddine at Ovio Business Solutions in Toronto and, along with another friend, shared an apartment. “But he had big goals, big dreams, things he wanted to accomplish. He sometimes worked seven days a week. You knew he was a guy who was going to get there.”

Born in Montreal, Noureddine grew up mostly in Ottawa. In high school, he was a vocalist in a local band, but turned to journalism as a student at Algonquin.

In 2014, he moved to Toronto for work and to pursue his interest in music journalism and photography. Over the past year, he’d begun to acquire a reputation in the field, with his articles appearing in publications such as the online magazine HipHop Canada. He interviewed and photographed such HipHop luminaries as Kanye West and Grammy nominee Kendrick Lamar.

“He was just starting to make a splash in the entertainment world,” said Michael Elliott, a former high school friend. “He was creative in so many dimensions. Zack had a lot to contribute.”

So, it seems, even in death. During a Thanksgiving visit home, the young man told his parents that he had decided to become an organ donor. It wasn’t something his mother or father had encouraged, but Hassan Noureddine said he suspects his son might have been inspired as a youngster by having heard of a relative who’d donated a kidney to save her son. “Maybe this triggered something in his mind.”

Whatever the reason, half-a-dozen people in need of organs have already benefited. The Noureddine family had received an early morning phone call from the Toronto hospital informing them of Zack’s condition and that he was in a coma. He was being kept on life-support until the family could get there. Afterward, according to the father, doctors took Zack’s kidneys, liver and other organs for waiting recipients.

Hassan Noureddine takes some comfort at the thought that others will live because of his son. “I’m angry, of course. I need to know how this happened. But my son did not die in vain. He lived life fully. He lived 50 years in 25 years.”

The young man’s funeral is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Monday at the Racine Robert & Gauthier Funeral Home at 180 Montreal Rd.

As of early Sunday, Toronto police were still looking for suspects in the killing.







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