Eleven people are facing more than 200 charges in connection with a series of violent incidents across the Toronto region this year, including the March mass shooting at a Scarborough pub that injured 12 people, police say.
Ten people are in custody and investigators are on the lookout for an additional suspect, Superintendent Paul MacIntyre of the Toronto Police organized crime unit said during a June 4 press conference. The suspects are facing a total of 203 charges, including 24 counts of attempted murder.
Four firearms were seized during the course of the months-long investigation, including two discovered during the arrests of those believed to be responsible for the March 7 mass shooting at the newly reopened Piper Arms in Scarborough, MacIntyre said.
The pub shooting left 12 people injured, with nine sustaining bullet wounds. Several individuals were shot multiple times, and one person was shot six times yet managed to survive, he said, noting that some victims sustained life-altering injuries.
The remaining people who were injured received cuts or lacerations from flying glass. The victims ranged in age from 20s to mid-50s.
“We’ve stayed in contact with the victims and their families throughout. Many continue to recover from serious physical and emotional trauma,” MacIntyre said. “Their strength and resilience has been remarkable.”
Police said at the time that three masked men entered the pub and sprayed the place with bullets in a “brazen” act of violence.
Investigators said June 4 they have now established links between the mass shooting and a number of other crimes.
“This investigation relied largely on traditional police work, not fingerprints, not DNA, just the determination of investigators to piece together critical information connecting individuals, timelines, and locations to uncover the full scope of what happened,” MacIntyre said.
“What they uncovered was a network of individuals who are now alleged to be responsible for the mass shooting at the pub as well as several other violent shootings and a robbery” in Mississauga, Ont.
203 Charges Filed
Toronto Police say Daykwon Joseph is a suspect in a crime spree that has resulted in several attempted murders, thefts, and an arson. The 20-year-old Toronto resident remains at large. Police handout photo
Eight men between the ages of 19 and 22 are facing charges, as are a 15-year-old and two 17-year-olds who cannot be named under the Young Offenders Act, according to a police press release. Charges range from attempted murder to robbery and firearm offences.
Toronto residents Sheldon Gordon and Juevar Griffith, both 19, and 22-year-old Kayjean Morrison each face several counts of attempted murder while Robert Gidisu, 21, and 20-year-old Daykwon Joseph, who is still at large, each face one count of attempted murder. They also face a litany of other charges.
Police have also charged 21-year-old Prayer Osakpemwehuan and 19-year-olds Nicoy Brooks and Joshua Clarke-Richards, all of Toronto, with weapon and theft related charges. The three male youths face similar charges.
MacIntyre said the accused were not gang members. Instead, he classified them as “a collective of a bunch of guys that got together and they’re doing these shootings.”
“We think it’s all the same group of guys that are doing these shootings, probably for hire,” he added.
Authorities have been cautious about associating any of the recent violence in the towing industry, which involves a suspected arson and more than a dozen shootings this year, with their investigation.
But MacIntyre did so during the press conference. “They’re all tow-truck related. It is part of the tow truck turf wars that were going on,” he said, but noted that the pub shooting could be the exception.
“We haven’t linked it to any tow truck violence at this point,” he said. “The group of people that we identified as being part of the tow truck shootings have also done the pub shooting. Whether that was a one-off … we’re still investigating that.”
Police say the arrests are also connected to a March 1 shooting at a commercial plaza that resulted in non-life-threatening injuries and three shootings on March 4 when one victim was shot while washing his vehicle, one was shot at a tow yard, and another was shot in the same area. All three victims survived the shootings, police said.
Police Chief Myron Demkiw called the ongoing shooting violence “completely unacceptable.”
“These events underscore the importance of the law reform we’ve asked for in the past, including law reform concerning shootings in public spaces,” he said at the press conference. “Gunfire in our public spaces must be recognized for the harm it causes, not just for those involved directly, but for the bystanders and the public at large.”
