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Police identified Shaquan Quashie, left, Cesar Vernaza 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 Monday 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 or about how the two men killed knew each other.
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.
Investigators are still gathering witness statements and reviewing evidence across the large crime scene, Chief Demkiw said.
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday, multiple shots rang out, scattering the nearly 13,000 people attending Salsa on St. Clair, Canada’s leading Latin American cultural festival, which marked its 22-year anniversary. 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 that wasn’t the case. Two firearms were recovered from the scene, Deputy Chief Frank 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.
The shooting has prompted questions about security measures at the festival and other crowded events.
Aldo Di Felice, president of TLN Media Group Inc., which founded the festival, said over the weekend that he had raised concerns about what he described as a shrinking police presence at the event and criticized the city for not doing enough around security and public safety.
Toronto’s mayor and the city’s police force have defended their approaches to security at public events.
Nonetheless, Chief 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.
There’s an opportunity to learn security lessons from the experience of holding six FIFA World Cup matches in Toronto that happened without any major incidents, he said.
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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 also called on the federal government to classify any shooting that kills someone in a crowded area as a first-degree-murder charge.
“This measure would act as a strong deterrent to perpetrators and recognize society’s condemnation of such reckless, egregious crimes,” he said.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser declined to comment on Mr. Demkiw’s remarks because the shooting is still under investigation, spokesperson Jeanne Joannie Fogue Mgamgne said in an e-mailed statement.
The federal government will continue to work with law enforcement to ensure laws keep pace with evolving threats, she added
“This was a heinous and senseless act. Our hearts are with all those affected by this tragedy. We are grateful to Toronto police and all those on the front lines for their swift response.”
Mayor Olivia Chow said she spoke with federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree and urged him to work with the U.S. government to stop the flow of illegal guns coming to Toronto. She said she won’t allow “reckless” criminals to stop Toronto’s tradition of outdoor street festivals.
“The pain caused by senseless gun violence is unimaginable. It ripples through the communities, casting a long shadow of fear and anger and sadness,” Ms. Chow said.
“But Toronto is resilient.”
Mr. Anandasangaree wasn’t available for an interview. Spokesperson Simon Lafortune said that the minister shares the mayor’s concerns about gun violence.
“We will continue working with our American counterparts, as well as municipal and provincial partners, to keep illegal guns off our streets and protect communities across Canada,” he said in an e-mail statement.
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.
Salsa on St. Clair was formed partly to support businesses along St. Clair West, which were negatively impacted when a streetcar line was installed more than a decade ago.