Toronto rapper Robin Banks has been identified by fans and friends as a victim in a Woodbridge nightclub shooting that took place on Monday.
The 22-year-old was rushed to hospital with critical injuries following the shooting. He remains in hospital in stable condition, police say.
He suffered a number of gunshot wounds, according to investigators, who have so far refused to confirm Banks as the victim.
Jesse Plunkett, editor of HipHopCanada told CP24 on Tuesday that the hip hop community is reeling from the news.
“A lot of sadness and grief to finding out that someone with so much talent and so much promise in front of his career, for something like that to happen, is obviously a tragedy,” he said. “A lot of people are wishing him well and hoping for a speedy recovery.”
The hashtag, #PrayforRobinBanks is being used by hundreds of fans and collaborators on social media sending their blessings and prayers for the artist's recovery.
Banks is described by Plunkett as "one of the biggest artists on the come up in the city."
The rapper’s YouTube videos have attracted more than two million views, including nods from Drake and Meek Mill.
The Philadelphia rapper, Meek Mill, posted a photo of Banks to Instagram today saying, "pray 4 da kid."
Plunkett told CP24 that he didn’t know of any bad blood between the 22-year-old and other members of the hip hop community.
“In general there’s a lot of jealousy around the music community here when people start to do good, you never know who that makes you a target of,” he explained.
CP24 reached out to Bank's management team for comment but hasn't received a response.
Earlier today, an arrest warrant was issued for two suspects wanted in connection with the triple shooting at the Woodbridge nightclub.
Three people were taken to hospital overnight Monday after shots were fired outside the Cameo Lounge on Steeles Avenue West, near Weston Road shortly after 2:40 a.m.
A 26-year-old woman from Aurora, Ont. and a 26-year-old Toronto man were also shot. Both sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The manhunt is underway for the suspects, identified as two Toronto men, Rushawn Anderson, 19, and Nicholas Rhoden, 26, York Regional Police said on Tuesday.
The pair are wanted for attempted murder.
“The focus for us is finding where these two people are and getting them off the street,” Const. Andy Pattenden, a spokesperson for York Regional Police, told CP24.
More than 100 people were believed to be in the club at the time of the shooting, Pattenden said.
Investigators believe the shooting was targeted, but won’t say who the target was or whether the suspects and victims knew each other.
Anderson and Rhoden were last seen fleeing the scene in a vehicle. The car is described as a black, four-door 2013 Honda Accord with tinted windows and the Ontario licence plate BZMX845.
Both men are considered to be armed and dangerous and anyone who spots them should call 911 rather than approach them, police said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the homicide unit at 1-866-876-5423 ext. 7865.
