The partner of one of Toronto’s latest homicide victims says she feels “sick” after learning the accused killer was wanted for a prior shooting.
“This is the hardest thing I have ever had to go through in my entire life,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous.
She described Jaunoi Christian, 24, as “a good person who had a good heart.” She said Christian left the family home in Brampton to drop in at a party downtown on Feb. 7 but was not planning to stay late. He had plans, she explained, to board a plane the following morning to Punta Cana to celebrate his 25th birthday, which was three days away.
According to Toronto police, Christian was found shot outside a building at 366 Queen St. E. around 2 a.m. on Friday February 8th. Christian was suffering from gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
“They took him away from us for no reason … It’s real sad,” said his father, Dennis Allen.
“He is a really good kid — not a trouble maker. He doesn’t deserve to die on the streets.”
Christian’s family said he did not know his accused killer.
Ibrahim Khiar, 33, arrested this week, was allegedly in possession of a firearm and now faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with Christian’s death. He is also facing an additional nine charges, including careless storage of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and possessing a loaded prohibited firearm.
But there is more.
READ MORE: 1 of 4 injured in Kensington Market shooting dies in hospital, police say
Khiar is also facing a count of second-degree murder and three counts of discharging a firearm endangering life for a shooting, seven months earlier, that left one man dead. On Canada Day 2018, four people were rushed to hospital in Kensington Market. Several days later, one of those injured, 19-year-old Marcel Teme, died in hospital.
Christian’s father said he cannot understand why the accused killer was walking free.
“This guy should be in jail, you know what I mean? But he’s on the streets,” Allen said.
Khiar was also previously convicted of a number of possession of firearm charges and served jail time.
Guns and gangs expert Dr. Anthony Hutchinson said the fact that an accused killer was able to remain on the streets may be indicative of a troubled relationship between the public and police.
“Witnesses and evidence are the way that crimes get solved … witnesses are a function of good community and police relationships,” he explained.
“And when there’s a break down, what occurs is perpetrators can hide out for longer they can be protected by community members who are sympathetic to them or maybe hostile to law enforcement.”
Hutchinson said this does not mean the community is to blame, but that “it is a double-edged sword.”
Back in Brampton at Jaunoi Christian’s home, his partner said she has no choice but to “go on.” She is pregnant with the couple’s second child, a third for Christian, adding he was looking forward to being a father again.