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Shaquan Quashie, left, Cesar Vernaza were identified as the victims of Saturday night’s shooting.Supplied
Police have identified the two victims killed in a shooting over the weekend at a Toronto street festival and say both of them were targeted in the attack.
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw also said that the five additional people who were injured in the shooting at the Salsa on St. Clair event on Saturday evening included bystanders. However, he declined to provide more details on those victims.
Chief Demkiw also declined to say how the two men killed knew each other, nor did he comment on any additional suspects.
Police identified the two men killed as Shaquan Quashie, 25, and Cesar Vernaza, 20.
One of the victims died on the street around St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue, while another man died in hospital, police said.
The shooting sent thousands of people running for cover at Canada’s leading Latin American cultural festival, which marked its 22-year anniversary.
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A woman photographs a small memorial set up near the intersection of St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue two days after a shooting during the annual Salsa on St. Clair festival in Toronto.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Demkiw said the shooting underscores the need for more discussions and planning among police, the city’s administration and event organizers to ensure adequate safety measures are in place for events such as street festivals.
“When a brazen shooting occurs in a public setting, like what happened this weekend, it understandably shakes the sense of safety and security that Torontonians expect and deserve,” he said during a Monday news conference.
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday, multiple shots rang out, scattering the nearly 13,000 people attending Salsa on St. Clair. Festival goers took refuge in bars, between houses and on porches of homeowners to avoid the violence.
Police initially said an active shooter was at large during the incident but later clarified during a news conference Saturday night that wasn’t the case. Two firearms were recovered from the scene, Deputy Frank Chief Barredo said.
The subsequent police investigation, which closed off multiple city blocks along St. Clair Avenue, forced the festival to cancel its planned events on Sunday. Businesses within the cordoned-off area had to close for the day because customers were not being allowed in the zone.
Saturday’s shooting wasn’t the first firearm incident at the festival. In July, 2024, Toronto police arrested a man at a restaurant near St. Clair Avenue and Rushton Road during the event after he hit someone on the head with a loaded handgun and fired one bullet, according to a police news release. He faced seven charges, including attempted murder.