A man who was killed in a mass shooting that happened while he gathered with friends in northwest Toronto has been identified as a “beloved father” and “a man of strong faith.”
Delroy George Parkes, 61, was one of five people shot outside of North Albion Collegiate Institute late Sunday in the area of Kipling Avenue and Mount Olive Drive, just north of Finch Avenue West.
Police have said the victims were gathered there after playing soccer earlier in the day, “really just socializing, enjoying the fresh air,” when two suspects pulled up in a vehicle, got out, and began firing.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the tragic and untimely passing of my beloved father, Delroy Parkes, who many of you knew as ‘Uncle George,'” a GoFundMe post organized by Jaidyn Parkes reads.
She called the shooting a “senseless act of violence” that took her father away.
“Our hearts are broken, and our lives have been forever changed.”
She said in an interview that her father and his friends had been going to hang out in the area together for years.
“They’re all immigrants from Jamaica and other places in the Caribbean, they all came here by themselves to start a new life,” Jaidyn said.
“They found family and community and love with each other. They went there to keep their community and their heritage strong.”
Jaidyn wrote on the GoFundMe that Delroy was “a beautiful human being who loved his family deeply” and was always kind to those he met.
Delroy was “a man of strong faith” who read the Bible daily, Jaidyn wrote, and liked playing soccer and dominoes with friends every night.
“My father cherished his wife, children, and grandchildren more than words can express,” the post says.
“He was the pillar of our family, providing not only love and support, but also a sense of security and stability.”
Heather Parkes, Delroy’s wife, said she had been with him for 30 years and married for around 15.
She said on Tuesday “our life is taken away” after the fatal shooting.
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“Our world was taken from us for no reason — no reason,” she said. “So yeah, I want justice.”
Police have also identified the victim and said he was a resident of Woodstock, Ont. Jaidyn said he lived there for a short period time but was living with them in Maple, Ont., and didn’t yet change his address.
Meanwhile, police are continuing to investigate the shooting.
Two suspects in a dark pickup truck arrived in the parking lot of North Albion Collegiate Institute, got out, and began firing before fleeing the area in the truck, police said.
Emergency crews were called to the scene at around 10:53 p.m. Sunday.
The suspects are still outstanding and police are appealing to the public for any information on the case.
Motive for shooting unknown
All five victims were taken to hospital, with Delroy dying in hospital, police said.
“The four remaining victims have life-altering and non-life-threatening injuries,” police said.
In a press conference Monday, police said they were unsure of a possible motive for the shooting.
Supt. Ron Taverner said there were also two other shootings that happened in Toronto’s west end over the weekend, both of which are believed to have been random, but investigators wouldn’t say if they believed the mass shooting was also a random act of violence.
— with files from Global News’ Isaac Callan
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