Midtown murder victim was hip hop writer

A 25-year-old man is dead after police say he was victimized in a targeted robbery and assault in midtown.

Zaher “Zack” Noureddine became the city’s final homicide victim of 2015 on Dec. 30, dying in hospital hours after being beaten and robbed outside of a bar on Yonge Street.

Emergency crews were called to Yonge and Lola Road at 12:30 a.m. for what was reported as a fight. Police later determined three men in dark clothing approached Noureddine and beat him in what police called a “brazen” robbery near St. Louis Bar and Grill. He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and died in the afternoon.

Police believe the attackers fled the scene in a light-coloured, four-door sedan.

Police are concerned the suspects may also have been responsible for a similar robbery earlier in the night near Bayview and Hillsdale avenues, which resulted in a man being sent to hospital.

Noureddine, originally from Ottawa, was a contributor to HipHopCanada.com and was remembered by colleagues there as “incredibly talented” and “hard working.”

Twitter saw an outpouring of condolences for Noureddine, including from his brother Russell, who wrote that he drove to Toronto from Ottawa after hearing the news at 2:30 a.m. There, he continued, “I had to watch him lay on his deathbed” which he said was “the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”