Peel police have arrested two people in connection with a “horrifying” daylight shooting behind a Malton apartment building that claimed the life of a 17-year-old bystander but they say that their investigation is “far from over” and that they are still looking for the seven suspects who actually opened fire.
Police say that a group of individuals were congregated at the rear of the building on Darcelle Avenue near Morning Star and Goreway drives at around 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, 2019 when two vehicles carrying a total of nine suspects pulled into the parking lot.
At a press conference on Tuesday morning, police released shocking surveillance footage that shows seven armed suspects getting out of the vehicles and immediately fanning out across the parking lot while the getaway drivers turned the vehicles around to allow for a quick exit.
A second video then shows the suspects opening fire on a group of more than a dozen individuals, who immediately take off on foot in search of safety.
Supt. Martin Ottaway said that in the short period of time that the shooting unfolded in the suspects fired at least 141 rounds with stray bullets hitting 15 different apartments and nine different vehicles.
He said that six people were shot, including three innocent bystanders.
One of those bystanders, 17-year-old Jonathan Davis, was caught by the gunfire while waiting to be picked up by family members behind the building and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ottaway said that the two other bystanders – a 50-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl – were actually in separate apartments within the building when they were caught by errant bullets.
Ottaway said that within hours of the shooting occurring, Ontario Province Police found one of the suspect vehicles ablaze in Caledon.
He said that investigators believe that the second suspect vehicle – a Nissan Sentra - was later used in a fatal drive-by shooting that took place about one month later on the off-ramp from Highway 410 to Derry Road. In that shooting, two suspects reportedly opened fire on a vehicle stopped at a red light, killing 28-year-old Giovanni Delahaye and wounding three others.
Ottaway told reporters that forensic evidence has since been used to link both shootings, though he did not comment on the motive in either incident other than to say that it is believed to be gang-related.
Over the last week police have arrested and charged two suspects in connection with the planning of the Darcelle Avenue shooting, though they have not yet apprehended those who are believed to have been involved in the gunfire itself or made any arrests in connection with the murder of Delahaye.
Safeer Ahmad, 19, of Mississauga and Jahvon Valdez, 21, of Brampton, are both charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
“This investigation is far from over and we are continuing to work hard to bring justice to all of the victims, their families and the community that has been deeply affected by these two senseless acts of violence,” Ottaway said. “We know that there are people in the community who have knowledge about the people involved in these incidents.”
Ice cream truck was parked in area at time
Police have previously indicated that the suspects in the Malton shooting were motivated, at least in part, by a rap video that contained verses “challenging other people within the community.”
Ottaway, however, did not bring up that theory on Tuesday, only saying that the shooting pertained to a “dispute” between two different gangs that are active in the GTA.
Speaking with reporters, Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said that the shooting represents a “level of violence that is shocking,” especially given the presence of innocent children, many of whom were visiting an ice cream truck that just happened to be parked nearby.
He called it “one of the most severe incidents in Peel history.”
“We will not accept it as a police service and we will not accept it as a community,” he said. “We believe there are people who can assist us in this investigation.”
Davis was a Grade 12 student at Lincoln Alexander Secondary School at the time of his death.
During Tuesday’s news conference, police also released a statement from his family.
In it they expressed their gratitude for the arrest of two suspects in connection with the shooting but noted that “no justice will ease the pain of losing our son."
Nonetheless, they said that they want to see those responsible arrested so other families won’t have to experience the pain they continue to experience to this day.
