One of two men beaten with what witnesses said was a baseball bat during a street fight in Chinatown late last month has died of his injuries, Toronto police say.
At a news conference held Friday afternoon, police confirmed that 22-year-old Danny La died in hospital Sunday night from injuries sustained in the fight during the early-morning hours of Sept. 30.
La is Toronto’s 49th homicide victim of 2013. A post-mortem examination determined that La died from multiple blunt-force injuries to the head.
Police say the two men were discovered injured on the sidewalk following the fight at Spadina Avenue and Baldwin Street.
One of the men was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police say that La and four other men were at a nightclub near Adelaide and Portland streets prior to the fight.
Sometime during the night, an altercation occurred in the area of the club, though it is unclear what the extent of La’s involvement was in the incident.
“We are aware there was an altercation,” Toronto police Sgt. Pauline Gray says. “What the altercation was about, we are unaware. We do have some surveillance of that area. People who were leaving the nightclub would have seen this altercation.”
Following the altercation, La and the group travelled to the Spadina Avenue and Baldwin Street area for food, where La and the other unidentified victim were assaulted.
Both men sustained multiple blows to the head and body with a weapon as they lay on the ground, police say.
Police would not confirm what type of weapon was used by the suspects but Gray described the incident as a “vicious assault.”
“The level of viciousness, the level of violence, is quite shocking,” Gray says.
The suspects fled the scene on foot following the assault. Police believe the suspects may have sustained injuries in the fight.
The suspects are described by police as Asian males, between the ages of 21 and 25. Police believe four to five men were involved in the fight.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7400 ext. 77412 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
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