Two 18-year-old males charged with 1st-degree murder in Salsa on St. Clair mass shooting

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw announced on Friday that two 18-year-old males have been charged with first-degree murder in the mass shooting at Toronto’s Salsa on St. Clair festival last month that took the lives of two men and injured five others.

An estimated 13,000 people were attending the festival when gunshots rang out shortly after 8 p.m. on July 11 in the area of St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue.

Shaquan Quashie, 25, and Cesar Vernaza, 20, were both killed during an exchange of gunfire at the Toronto festival that sent five others to a hospital with serious gunshot wounds, later described as non-life-threatening injuries.

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On Wednesday, authorities executed a search warrant at a building in the Weston Road and St. Philips Road area. Officers seized two firearms, a quantity of narcotics, and Canadian currency.

Jessiah Massaro-Gill, 18, and Lewis Downey, 18, were arrested and charged with two counts of 1st-degree murder, five counts each of attempted murder and various firearm offences.

Only one gun was fired, Toronto police say

Detective Sergeant Stacey McCabe of the Homicide and Missing Persons Unit said investigators initially indicated that the festival shooting to be targeted, which authorities still believe to be true. Evidence has since pointed Toronto police to the conclusion that only one firearm was discharged that night.

“Although two firearms were recovered at the scene, forensic testing determined that neither had been fired. The evidence indicates the gunfire came from one gun,” she said. “I am not positioned to comment on whom those guns belonged to. What I will say is, neither of them were fired.”

McCabe said the two firearms that were seized following the two arrests are now undergoing forensic examination to determine if they were used in the Salsa on St. Clair shooting.

The second day of the festival was cancelled as police continued their investigation. McCabe said on Friday that while the bystanders’ injuries were not life-threatening, she called some of them life-altering, with them subjected to an “unimaginable traumatic experience.”

Demkiw, meanwhile, noted that investigators have worked relentlessly to identify those responsible and bring them before the courts.

“We need stronger deterrence when someone chooses to fire a gun into a crowded public gathering showing complete disregard for human life. The law must send a clear message that this conduct will be met with the most serious consequences available,” he said.

The future of the festival is now up in the air after the TeleLatino Network (TLN), the founder and main sponsor of Salsa on St. Clair, raised concerns about safety. The local BIA has also pulled their sponsorship for what they say is a decline in support from residents and businesses.

Organizers for Taste of Danforth, a popular public event set to return this Friday after a two-year hiatus, have said they worked with police and private security for months on a “comprehensive” safety plan.

With files from The Canadian Press