Woman stabbed to death at Edmonton women's shelter in rare homicide
A 27-year-old woman was fatally stabbed outside a safehouse in west Edmonton on July 26. A witness watched the attack unfold and later spoke with her attacker.
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A woman was fatally stabbed outside a women's shelter in Edmonton's Hamptons neighbourhood on the evening of July 26—the first known homicide at such a facility in Alberta.
Zubaria Khan, 27, died of her injuries in hospital after being repeatedly stabbed. Edmonton police responded around 9:40 p.m. to reports of a fight outside a home. Thirty-three-year-old Fahimah Rahimi has been charged with second-degree murder. Police said the two women knew each other. The allegation has not been tested in court.
A witness, Kieran, was walking his dog when he heard someone screaming to call 911. He described seeing a woman crouching over Khan, stabbing her repeatedly in the head while holding her hair. When Kieran approached from about 10 feet away, the woman told him "It's done, it's finished, it's over. She had it coming."
Kieran said he told the woman to stop. She paced around the driveway and returned to the body. "She's already dead, you can stop," Kieran told her. The woman responded that she was "just grabbing something"—her slippers from the victim's feet. Kieran said she showed no distress about the violence. "Didn't seem phased by the whole thing at all, like it was just another day."
The woman then went inside, changed her clothes, came back out and waited for police to arrive.
The safehouse is run by Nisa Homes, part of the Nisa Foundation, which serves women and children experiencing domestic violence, poverty, homelessness, or seeking asylum. Nisa Homes declined to grant an interview to media. Homicides at women's shelters are extremely rare in Canada. The circumstances of how the stabbing occurred outside the facility remain unclear.
How was the attack able to occur outside the safehouse facility?
What is Nisa Homes' security protocol and staffing on site?
What was the history between Khan and Rahimi before the incident?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
The facts
Who was killed in the Edmonton stabbing?
Zubaria Khan, a 27-year-old woman, was fatally stabbed outside a women's shelter in Edmonton's Hamptons neighbourhood on July 26, 2026.
Who has been charged in the stabbing?
Fahimah Rahimi, 33 years old, has been charged with second-degree murder. Police said Rahimi and Khan knew each other.
What did a witness see during the attack?
Kieran was walking his dog when he heard screaming and saw a woman repeatedly stabbing Khan in the head while holding her hair. When he approached, the woman told him the stabbing was finished, then later said she was retrieving her slippers from the victim's feet before changing clothes and waiting for police.
