Isaiah Macnab

Isaiah Thomas Macnab was a 20-year-old man with a "million-dollar smile" and a quick wit, remembered by his family for his willingness to always lend a hand. A former student at St. Mary's High School in Kitchener, Ontario, Isaiah had been a proud athlete, playing for the Eagles football team and participating in track and field. He was a beloved son, a cherished little brother to his sister Claudia, and a hero to his younger sister. His family's hearts were broken by his loss, with Claudia later writing, "Isaiah was my best friend, my world and my source of happiness through life. I don't know how I'm going to make it through life without you Isaiah." In the months before his death, he was reconnecting with family, making plans for college, and working to turn his life around after a mistake that led him into the criminal justice system. His mother, Kelly Macnab, said he was on the path to becoming a "successful rehabilitation story."

That story was cut short in a brazen, daylight attack on September 20, 2018. Just after 11 a.m., Isaiah, a Black male, was sitting at a picnic table in the parking lot of the Salvation Army's New Horizons halfway house where he was staying on day parole. He was listening to music through his earbuds when a white, four-door Mercedes CLA 250 pulled into the lot on Pandora Avenue. A passenger exited the car, ambushed Isaiah, and shot him multiple times. According to his mother, who later learned the horrific details from eyewitnesses, "Isaiah never saw it coming and had no time to react or to defend himself." She described how the shooter stood over her son and "riddled both his head and body with bullets... Isaiah was slaughtered and left to die in front of traumatized bystanders." An autopsy would later confirm he died from multiple gunshot injuries.

The killing, which Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin described as a "horrendous, tragic crime" and an "execution-style murder," was targeted. The gunman, described as a Black male between 18 and 25 years old with a thin to medium build, got back into the Mercedes, which then sped off. The car, which bore stolen Ontario licence plates reading BZBP 153, had been tracked traveling from Brampton on Highway 401 around 9:45 a.m. and was seen circling the Kitchener neighborhood for about 40 minutes before the shooting.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service launched an immediate investigation, pursuing the suspect vehicle as it fled eastbound on Highway 401. The Mercedes led police on a brief chase, exiting and then re-entering the highway at Highway 6 South before it was last seen exiting at Trafalgar Road in Mississauga at approximately 11:48 a.m. The shooter was reportedly wearing dark pants, a dark hoodie, and a baseball hat; no description of the driver has ever been released. In the years since, investigators have released enhanced surveillance and dash-cam footage of the suspect vehicle, believing that people in the community have crucial information but may be hesitant to come forward due to fear.

Isaiah's family has relentlessly advocated for justice. On the one-year anniversary of his death, they gathered for a candlelight vigil and laid flowers at the picnic table where he died. His mother has made several emotional public pleas for witnesses to break the "ridiculous don't-snitch culture." "My son didn't just die. He was murdered," she stated in one interview. At a police press conference, she spoke of her profound grief: "My son Isaiah was, and always will remain, the love of my life. He was murdered at just 20 years of age. The day that he died, my world went dark."

As of May 2026, the murder of Isaiah Macnab remains an active and unsolved cold case. No arrests have been made. In October 2020, the Waterloo Regional Police Service announced a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this homicide. Police continue to urge anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward. Tips can be directed to the Waterloo Regional Police at 519-570-9777 ext. 8191 or provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.