Toronto mayor vows to 'do everything' to rid city of gangs following weekend violence
Toronto Mayor John Tory vowed on Monday to "do everything" to rid the city of gangs in the wake of five deaths this weekend.
Tory said he is talking to Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders every day about the problem of violence.
"I'll be seeing him later today and then we're going to continue to discuss how we can deploy every possible resource to scoop these people up off of the street, gang by gang, street by street, gun by gun," Tory told reporters.
"I don't direct the police, the chief does, but I know that he and his men and women are working hard to make sure that we do everything together that we can to rid the city of these people, and that's all we can do."
Police investigating 5 deaths this weekend
Police are investigating five deaths this weekend.
- Jenas Nyarko, 31, was in a parked car with three other people in the area of Replin Road and Old Meadow Lane around 2 a.m. Sunday, when a silver SUV drove by and opened fire. Nyarko, who emigrated to Canada from Ghana in 2001, was on her way home after a funeral when the shooting happened. She was a passenger in the rear of the vehicle. She died in hospital. Police said she lived in Toronto by herself and worked at a shelter.
- The bodies of two men were found early Sunday in an Etobicoke in a home. Both men had suffered gunshot wounds. Police and paramedics were called to the scene, on Lightwood Drive, near Kipling Avenue and Albion Drive, after 2 a.m. On Monday, police identified the victims as Patrick McKenna, 20, and Dalbert Allison, 40, both of Toronto.
- A man in his 20s or 30s was found dead with several stab wounds outside a plaza in Rexdale on Saturday afternoon. Police said two men got into a "physical altercation" in a strip mall parking lot, near Martin Grove Road and John Garland Boulevard, shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. When officers arrived, they found a man without vital signs. He was taken to hospital, but died of his injuries there. A Toronto man, 30, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death.
- Peel police said a body was found in a burning vehicle in Mississauga on Sunday evening. Police were called to the area of Dixie and Lakeshore roads just after 6:50 p.m. for a "suspicious" vehicle fire. The body was found after the fire was extinguished. The person has not yet been identified. One man is in custody, but no charges have been laid.
Friend remembers Nyarko as being 'very jovial'
Ainka Culzac, a friend of Nyarko, the woman who was killed Sunday, said they met at Centennial College several years ago and had kept in touch with each other even after graduating in 2013.
Nyarko was a "very jovial" person who was "always smiling," Culzac said.
"She was very, very fun, very career oriented. She was very focused on what she wanted to do," Culzac told CBC Toronto.
"I was very shocked to hear that she was killed in such a manner."
Etobicoke homicide victims identified
On Monday afternoon, police released the identities of two men who were found dead in a house in Etobicoke. They are Patrick McKenna, 20, and Dalbert Allison, 40, both of Toronto.
Police say multiple shots were fired into the home located in the Lightwood Drive and Sanagan Road area shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday.
Post mortems were conducted on Monday and the cause of death for both men was determined to be gunshot wounds.
Police say they are looking for two suspects in connection with that shooting.
Investigators describe one suspect as a male who was last seen wearing a black top and red track pants, and his face was concealed by either a mask or a hood. No description was immediately available for the second suspect, police say.
Police had 'great success' with recent raids: Tory
Tory said recent police raids that targeted at gang activity is a good start.
"They had great success last week in taking down one gang and in seizing a lot of guns and arresting a lot of people, and I'm confident that kind of success is going to be continued," Tory said.
"We are working together, the police service and the city, and we're hopeful to have help as we do for some of these kinds of things from the other governments."
Some 70 people allegedly linked a west-end street gang were arrested in raids last week.
More than 800 police officers executed some 50 warrants targeting the Five Point Generalz, an alleged criminal group that police say has roots in the area of Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West.
The raids were the result of a nine-month investigation dubbed Project Patton, according to Saunders. Arrests were made in Toronto, Durham, York and Peel regions.
