Memorial Held For Young Man Shot To Death In East End

Kareme Parks may have been 20-years-old, but in the grand scheme of things he was still just a kid. The young man many called “Blits” was gunned down in the area of Victoria Park Ave. and O’Connor Dr. Monday night, and Thursday family and friends gathered for a memorial in his honour.

“He was a good kid,” said Bernadile Primus, a family friend. “He didn’t deserve to die like this.”

Hundreds packed into the O’Connor Community Centre to pay tribute to Parks and watch a slide show that reminded those in attendance of all the reasons they loved him. For some the pain was too much to contain, and tears flowed freely.

Parks was killed when he and a friend were at a location on 25 Sunrise Ave. A fight took place and shots were fired, but police know little beyond that.

Parks died at the scene while his friend survived, but suffered serious internal injuries.

“For that young man who shot them, all I can say is I hope that you see the impact that he has had any turn yourself in,” said Angelle White, another family friend.

“And for friends of Kareme, do not take any revenge, revenge is not the way … we don’t need anymore black men dying, we need to stop the cycle.”

As the community continues to mourn, police continue their investigation into who fired the gun that claimed Parks’ life.

Anyone with information that can help authorities in this matter is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.