Murder charges laid in Danzig shooting

TORONTO, Ont. – In what police label as a “significant milestone,” an 18-year-old Toronto man is now facing murder charges in connection with the Danzig Street shooting that took place at a community barbecue on July 16, now said to be the worst mass shooting in Toronto history.

Shaquan “Bam Bam” Mesquito has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, 23 counts of aggravated assault and one count of reckless discharge of a firearm.

Police also released a sketch of two persons of interest in an effort to establish a role, if any, they may have played in the shooting.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of these two persons of interest is asked to call police at 416-808-7405 or 416-808-7394, or submit an anonymous tip to Toronto Crime Stoppers.

Shyanne Charles, 14, and Joshua Yasay, 23, were killed in the shooting. Police described both victims as “innocent bystanders.”

Twenty-three other people, including a toddler, were also wounded in the shooting which involved several guns. There were approximately 100 to 150 people in the area at the time.

Mesquito had already been arrested in July and charged for allegedly uttering threats ahead of the shooting. He is currently in custody, and faces over 25 charges. He was remanded following his most recent court appearance. However, police will not say if he fired the shots which killed Charles and Yasay.

Investigators have since linked the shooting to turf wars and power struggles within one of Toronto’s most notorious street gangs, the Galloway Boys.

They say a member of the Malvern Crew also attended, despite being banned from the event. The alleged crew member then left, called several friends and returned to confront the Galloway Boys, seeking revenge from attending the party.

“We have been pursuing those individuals quite relentlessly and I think it significantly degraded their ability to carry weapons to engage in violent behaviour, and we’re not going to stop,” Police Chief Bill Blair said at a news conference, Thursday.

Police say they still need individuals who were at the barbecue to come forward and help identify members of the Malvern Crew. They also need assistance with those people who were checking for guns. However, a community code of silence has kept many witnesses from speaking out.

Blair said there are “a lot of good kids and a lot of good families in that neighbourhood, and yet their sense of pride in their own neighbourhood, as well as their sense of safety, was taken from them.”

“They are also victims of the activities of these criminals. It is in their best interest to help us get those individuals off the street, hold them accountable for the crimes of violence,” he added.

“Additional charges will be laid. There are others who also bear responsibility for what took place. We are also doggedly pursuing all of the individuals responsible for this. We need the public’s help. We need people to step forward and tell us what they know.”

Blair said the crime did not just victimize the entire community, it victimized the entire city.

The investigation is being led by the guns and gangs and drug squad, as well as intelligence units. Officers have not specified whether Mesquito is from the Malvern Crew or the Galloway Boys.

Meanwhile, the police tape and blood stains are gone, but the dark memories remain for those living on Danzig Street.

“People screaming, people running. It was just crazy,” one woman told 680News.

“I saw it from start to finish,” said one man, pointing to the exact spot he stood during the shooting. “I got very low, very fast.”

“One little arrest is not really anything to be having this big conference [for],” he added. “If you had everybody [responsible in custody], then maybe. Frankly, I don’t think it’s that much of a step.”

However, the woman told 680News she felt good about the arrest, but changed her tune mid-sentence.

“Hopefully it helps and fixes some things. Probably not because it’s all retaliation. It’s just going to keep going.”

Residents agreed that they won’t be resting easy until all the shooters involved have been rounded up.