TORONTO – Toronto Police have charged a 19-year-old man in connection to the mass shooting that disrupted a community barbeque in Scarborough on Monday night, killing two people, and injuring 24 others.
Police arrested Nahom Tsegazab of Toronto and has been charged with reckless discharge of a firearm.
The suspect was reportedly injured in the brazen shootout. He has been remanded into custody and the investigation is ongoing.
Shyanne Charles, an athletic 14-year-old girl who went to Joseph Brant Senior Public School, and 23-year-old Joshua Yasay, a reportedly aspiring police officer, fell victim to the hail of gunfire on Monday, becoming Toronto’s 27th and 28th homicides of 2012.
Twenty-four other people were injured as a result of the violence, including a 22-month-old infant.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair called the tragedy an unprecedented level of violence, never before seen in his long career as a police officer.
Along with Mayor Rob Ford, Blair vowed to catch the two suspected gunmen, but he also expressed concern about the possibility of retaliatory violence.
Police suggest there was a “strong indication” of gang involvement in the shooting.
A handgun was recovered at the scene. Police also took a “person of interest” into custody for questioning – though the person has not been named a suspect.
Ford will be meeting with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair next week to discuss ways to prevent similar violent incidents from happening in the future.
Monday night’s shooting is the latest in a recent spate of public shootings in Toronto, starting with the shooting at the Eaton Centre on June 2.
Ahmed Hassan, 24, and Nixon Nirmalendran, 22, were killed as a result of the Eaton Centre shooting.
On June 18, 35-year-old John Raposo was gunned down in broad daylight at a gelato shop in Little Italy.
Roughly 24 hours after the mass shooting on Danzig street in Scarborough, a man in his 30s was shot at a soccer field near Jane Street and Eglinton Avenue.
On Thursday morning, a 27-year-old man became the fourth person in as many days to be shot and killed, this time in North York near the Lawrence Avenue and Allen Road area.
With files from The Canadian Press
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