Toronto man, 21, charged with murder in alleged targeted shooting

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A 21-year-old Toronto man is now in custody charged with first degree-murder for the June death of another man, police said Thursday.

The accused is also alleged to be involved in a secondary shooting last month and was in possession high-powered weapons, including a Romanian variant AK-47, according to Toronto Police.

Det. Sajeev Nair said outside 33 Division in North York that officers executed search warrants Wednesday at four Toronto addresses and a vehicle.

Nair announced the arrest of Brandon Turner in connection with the June 27 targeted shooting death of Marsell Bryan, 23, that occurred just before 3 a.m. outside a condo complex near Victoria Park Ave. and Finch Ave. E. where the victim lived with family members.

“Brandon Turner was located at one of those addresses and charged with first-degree murder and the discharge of firearms offences,” said Nair.

“Officers located a Glock 9mm handgun with an extended magazine and a Romanian variant AK-47 with a high capacity magazine at the same address (as his arrest).”

The subsequent shooting Nair spoke of occurred in Etobicoke just before midnight on Aug. 15 on Jamestown Cres., near Martin Grove Rd. and John Garland Blvd., where a 25-year-old man was shot and survived.

“That shooting involved four male suspects,” said Nair. “That investigation revealed that one of those males had an automatic firearm.”

The investigation yielded information that Turner was one of the four shooters that night and was then linked to the June homicide of Bryan.

Nair would not get into the evidence of Bryan’s death other than to say “it was definitely targeted” and he was hit multiple times by gunfire.

“In that incident there were two male shooters. We are alleging that Brandon Turner is one of them,“ said Nair.

Police are still trying to track down the second shooter.

Nair said more than 20 shots were fired during that homicide and confirmed a video of the shooting that circulated on social media that day “is now part of the case.”

He could not say whether the Glock that was seized was involved in the shooting death of Bryan and that would be determined by the Centre for Forensic Sciences for a comparison.

The Romanian variant AK-47 is a clone of the Soviet-era model made for the Romanian military service in 1963 and 1965.

On June 27, the parking lot at the condo complex was littered with at least 56 orange police evidence cones that were seen zig-zagging throughout the pavement, while bullet holes were seen at the glass front foyer entrance and second-floor windows.

Along with the homicide charge, Turner also faces 11 weapons-related charges, theft obtained by crime over $5,000, discharge of a firearm with intent to wound and occupying a motor vehicle with a firearm.

Nair said the accused is known to police. He appeared in court Thursday to face first-degree murder charge in connection with the city’s 44th homicide of the year.