‘They're all tow-truck related': 11 charged in string of violence including mass shooting at Scarborough's Piper Arms pub

Hamilton Spectator

2 days ago

Three months after one of the worst mass shootings in this city's history, a sweeping investigation by Toronto police has resulted in more than 200 combined charges against 11 people for a string of violence this spring related to the 'tow truck turf wars.'
The incidents, spanning from March 1 to May 26, include an additional four shootings — two at towing lots in the city — and an attempted robbery.
A briefing at Toronto police headquarters Wednesday marked the first update provided by investigators since the mass shooting at Piper Arms pub in Scarborough — and the first time investigators have been willing to publicly link the shooting in any way to the GTA's troubled towing industry.
Just after 10:30 p.m. on March 7, three gunmen opened fire at the grand opening of the pub, located on Progress Avenue, just across the street from the
Scarborough Town Centre
shopping mall.
Security footage played at Wednesday's news conference showed three men charge inside the restaurant before firing several rounds from an automatic rifle into the bar.
Police released video surveillance from inside Scarborough's Piper Arms pub, where a mass shooting took place on March 7.
Twelve people were injured; nine by gunfire and the others by flying debris. One person, police said, was shot six times.
'The indiscriminate nature of this gun violence is hard to comprehend,' Chief Myron Demkiw told reporters. 'No one was killed, which was a miracle.'
The subsequent investigation, dubbed 'Project Night Hawk,' uncovered a 'network of individuals who are now alleged to be responsible for the mass shooting at the pub, as well as several other violent shootings.'
Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw updates the media on the investigation into the mass shooting at the Piper Arms Pub on March 7.
Investigators have previously stopped short of connecting the Piper Arms shooting to any ongoing violence in the towing industry, which includes a suspected arson and more than a dozen shootings this year alone.
But speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Supt. Paul MacIntyre described all seven incidents as tow truck-related, if only through the overlap in individuals accused.
'The group of people that we identified as being part of the tow truck shootings have also done the pub shooting,' MacIntrye said. 'Whether that was a one-off (and) the reasons that they did it, we're still investigating that.'
'(They are all) part of the tow truck turf wars that were going on,' he continued, adding that he hopes the arrests will lessen the number of shootings in the city.
The first incident, on March 1, saw one person shot and injured at a commercial plaza near
Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue
.
Days later, on March 4, three more people were shot in separate incidents; one of which played out at a towing lot in
the Stockyards,
and the second later that night at a gas station, where a victim was washing his vehicle when the gunmen got out of their vehicle and opened fire. The three victims' injuries were not life-threatening.
They discharged firearms at a second victim, who was struck and sustained non-threatening injuries.
The suspects drove the stolen vehicle to a gas station near Lawrence Avenue East and Warden Avenue.
On March 6, the day before the Piper Arms shooting, a vehicle was shot at while leaving a tow lot near the West Mall and the Queensway in Etobicoke.
And on April 11, four males, operating a stolen vehicle, allegedly attempted to enter a bank near McLaughlin Road in Mississauga. The vehicle was later stopped by police and the suspects fled on foot. Two were arrested the same day, marking the first of the arrests announced Wednesday.
In the last incident, on May 26, police arrested two individuals after stopping a stolen vehicle near Finch Avenue West and Jane Street.
Police did not detail when the six remaining accused were arrested.
A total of 203 charges have been laid, including 24 counts of attempted murder. Ten of the accused have been arrested, and one remains at-large.
Police have arrested Prayer Osakpemwehuan, 21; Robert Gidisu, 21; Sheldon Gordon, 19; Juevar Griffith, 19; Kayjean Morrison, 22; Nicoy Brooks, 19; and Joshua Clarke-Richards, 19. Three male youths: two 17-year-olds and a 15-year-old whose identities are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, have also been charged.
Police are still looking for 20-year-old Daykwon Joseph.
The accused do not fit police's definition of a 'street gang,' said MacIntyre, adding they were likely hired to carry out the acts.
Superintendent Paul MacIntyre updates the media on the investigation into the mass shooting at the Piper Arms Pub on March 7.
'This is really just a bunch of guys,' MacIntyre said. 'They're just friends, if you will. They're associates. They are out there doing these shootings, but they're definitely not a gang.'
When asked about the March 8 arrests of Gokilan Balamurale, nephew of the Piper Arms franchise owner, and co-accused Brannan Balasegar, who were charged with conspiring to commit first-degree murder at three businesses east of Toronto the day after the Piper Arms shooting, MacIntyre declined to comment.
Balamurale, 25, also shares ties to the towing industry, recently working as a tow dispatcher in Markham, according to two drivers who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity, citing fear for their safety.
'That's separate from this investigation right now,' MacIntyre said.
The arrests came after three masked gunmen opened fire on a crowd at the grand opening of the
Police said the Project Night Hawk investigation is continuing.
With files fro
m Raju Mudhar and Elissa Mendes