Pearl Clarke has been living in agony for the last two months not knowing who killed her only son or why.
“I miss my son so much,” Clarke said as she sobbed, letting her tears flow freely while speaking with Global News.
“Why did you kill my son? I ask the reason, why? Why did you kill my son?”
Twenty-two-year-old Shaquille Wallace was gunned down in mid-January in what Toronto police called a random attack. Police said the shooting happened in the Etobicoke neighborhood of Scarlettwood.
“He’s a nice boy, he’s very good — quiet. He didn’t give me no trouble. I never heard of him giving any problem,” Clarke said.
READ MORE: Police investigating after man fatally shot in Etobicoke
The Scarlettwood neighborhood saw a similar random killing only two months later in mid-March when 26-year-old Nnamdi Ogba was approached from behind and shot in the back. Police said he was an innocent bystander in what they call a “turf war.’
Two men were charged with first-degree murder on Thursday in connection with Ogba’s death after police executed several search warrants. Nineteen-year-old Trevaughan Miller and 22 year old Abdullahi Mohamed. Both men appeared in court Thursday afternoon and were denied bail.
investigators previously released video allegedly showing the two shooters fleeing the scene.
Police said they’re looking into any connections between Ogba’s killing and any other fatal shootings, including Wallace’s. Clarke said that in itself gives her a bit of hope that maybe her son’s killer can be found.
“It’s hurting me every day. Every moment I feel the pain in my stomach. I miss my son. He was such a good boy,” Clarke said.
Meanwhile, members of the Scarlettwood neighbourhood are crying out for increased police presence with two random killings only two months apart.
“We need to know what happened and we need to live in a community where no one will be scared to walk around,” Sylva Okezie, Ogba’s stepfather, said.
“The people in Scarlettwood are crying out for help,” local Pastor Keaton Austin said.
READ MORE: Mother remembers 26-year-old son who was fatally shot in Etobicoke
“You see any kids outside? No. They want help.”
Toronto Police Supt. Ron Taverner said it’s important to make communities that are troubled feel safe and are making more officers available to patrol Scarlettwood.
“Unfortunately we can’t be everywhere all the time, but certainly we’ll be in that area in the short term,” he said.
Meanwhile, Clarke said she wants even more police in her community and hope the turf war comes to an end soon so no mother in Scarlettwood has to experience what she’s going through.
— With files from Jamie Mauracher
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