A Hamilton man died early Sunday morning after being stabbed in what police describe as an unprovoked attack outside an east-end pub.
Shah Ghafoori, 34, died in hospital. He is the city’s 10th homicide victim of 2024, police say.
Hamilton police arrested a 28-year-old man from St. Catharines at the scene. He’s been charged with second-degree murder in Ghafoori’s death.
“We don’t know why this happened,” Det. Sgt. Sara Beck told reporters outside Hamilton police’s central station on Sunday afternoon.
Police were called to Peddles Pub, near Kenilworth Avenue N. and Barton Street E., at around 1:45 a.m. Sunday.
After interviewing multiple witnesses, police believe that Ghafoori and his alleged attacker were both inside the bar early Sunday morning, Beck said.
When Ghafoori stepped outside into a vestibule, the man stabbed him once in the upper body, Beck said.
Beck said at this point police do not believe the two men knew each other.
Beck added police do not believe the alleged homicide was connected to the pub, nor do they have any particular concerns about the business.
“Nobody could have foreseen it,” she said.