Toronto police say two men have been charged with multiple offences including first-degree murder in relation to a deadly shooting last month at the Salsa on St. Clair festival in Toronto.
Police identified the two accused as Jessiah Massaro-Gill, 18, and Lewis Downey, 18, and said both are currently being held in custody.
The July 11 shooting at the Latin street festival claimed the lives of 25-year-old Shaquan Quashie and 20-year-old Cesar Vernaza in what police described at the time as a “targeted event.”
“While today’s arrests represent significant progress, they do not erase what happened that evening,” Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said at an Aug. 7 press conference.
“What should have been a celebration of community, culture, summer, and all that our city has to offer instead resulted in two people losing their lives,” he added.
Officers were called to the street festival, which celebrates Latin culture, food, and music, around 8:10 p.m. for reports of gunfire.
Police say approximately 13,000 people were at the festival when the shooting broke out.
Upon arrival, officers said they located seven individuals suffering from gunshot wounds, one of whom was deceased at the scene and another died at hospital.
The five other gunshot victims were transported to hospital and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police, who noted two firearms were also recovered at the scene.
Arrests
Police say Massaro-Gill was arrested on Aug. 5 following a search warrant being executed in a building in northwest Toronto where officers say they also seized two firearms, an unspecified amount and type of narcotics, and an unspecified amount of Canadian cash.
Downey was arrested shortly afterward the same day, according to police, who say a search of his residence led to seizure of a handgun, illegal drugs, and an unspecified amount of Canadian currency.
Massaro-Gill and Downey are both charged with two counts of first-degree murder as well as five counts of attempted murder, in addition to a number of charges between the two pertaining to drug trafficking, firearms offences, and proceeds of crime.
“These arrests reflect the commitment of our officers, both front-line and investigative, who have worked relentlessly since July 11 to identify those responsible and bring them before the courts,” Demkiw said in an Aug. 7 press release.
“The willingness to open fire in a crowded public gathering, with complete disregard for human life, demands the most serious consequences,” he added.
Police noted the shooting is still under investigation.
Demkiw called for “meaningful deterrence” to prevent such violent acts in the future, reiterating calls he made for stronger penalties for those involved in public attacks.
“If you pull out a gun in a public space, in a public square or the Eaton Centre or any other public gathering and fire it indiscriminately, that should be treated with the utmost seriousness in the law,” Demkiw said at a July 13 press conference.
“If someone dies as a result of that [shooting], there should be no debate on what the motive was behind that shooting. That should be a pathway to first-degree murder in and of itself and that’s the reforms we’re looking to see our federal government consider,” he added.
