Two men are dead and at least one other is injured following a shooting inside an illegal after-hours club near Kensington Market on Friday morning.
It happened inside the second-floor club on College Street at Augusta Avenue at around 5:10 a.m.
One of the victims was pronounced dead on scene while the other was taken to hospital but succumbed to his injuries upon arrival.
A third victim, meanwhile, was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and is currently listed in serious condition.
Police say that they are also investigating whether a fourth man who checked himself into St. Michael’s Hospital shortly after the shooting is connected to the incident.
“I am told that this is an illegal after-hours club and it appears there was some sort of confrontation in the establishment and a number of shots were fired,” Det. Shawn Mahoney told reporters at the scene on Friday morning. “We believe there was a minimum of 30 people in there at the time and we are asking anyone who was at this location to contact us.”
One of the victims was former professional skateboarder
Police have not released the names of the victims at this point, however friends confirm to CP24 that one of the people killed was 42-year-old Justin Bokma.
A former professional skateboarder, Bokma is believed to have been working as a bouncer in the club at the time of the shooting.
“Justin was working in that club as a doorman and apparently a fight had broken out or something was going on and in his attempt to disarm one of the shooters he ended up getting shot,” Bokma’s friend Richard Lett told CP24 on Friday afternoon. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that when he saw that people were in danger that he would try to do something about it. I wish he hadn’t but that was just the kind of guy he was.”
Lett told CP24 that Bokma was a legend in the skateboarding community, having once plied his trade in Los Angeles before rerunning to his native Toronto.
“He was always down at the park skating and there was always these young guys that were totally amazed that it was Justin Bokma but he had no ego about it at all,” he said. “It was amazing the flips he could do with that board at that age.
The second victim of the shooting is believed to be LeFranc Matthews. A GoFundMe page set up in his memory says he was a father and "and amazing human being full of joy and laughter."
Mahoney said that police are seeking two or three male suspects, who were seen fleeing the scene of the shooting on foot.
Mahoney added that police have spoken to a number of witnesses who were inside the club when shots rang out but are hoping to speak to others who either witnessed the shooting itself or were in the club earlier in the night.
“We are at this point still trying to establish how many firearms were involved and who may have discharged those firearms,” Mahoney said. “We will be here for quite a bit of time gathering as much evidence as possible.”
