Dad's anguished cries pierce air after Scarborough 'gun battle' leaves 2 dead, 2 hurt
Toronto now on pace for about 90 homicides by year's end
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“Where is he, where is he?”
Those were the anguished cries from a father looking for a son believed to have been gunned down early Wednesday outside of a Scarborough plaza.
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Darryl McCann had to be restrained by two police officers as he barrelled into the crime scene strewn with over 50 shell casings after two people were shot dead, including a woman, and two others were serious hurt during what was described a “gun battle.”
Toronto Police said the deadly quadruple shooting occurred in the parking lot of a strip mall on Ellesmere Rd. near Birkdale Rd. — located between Midland Ave. and Brimley Rd. around 2:30 a.m.
McCann dropped to the ground in the plaza and started pounding the pavement, knowing it was his son who’d been shot.
“He (his son) called me after midnight and said he was going to meet his girlfriend,” said McCann, mentioning the last time he would hear from his son, who had just celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday.
Toronto Police Homicide Det. Ron Benson said it “appears to have been some kind of gun battle” that took place in the parking lot. At least 76 numbered police markers were visible in the parking lot.
“I don’t have any information in regard to the number of groups or persons involved,” said Benson.
A handgun was retrieved at the scene, but Benson could not confirm who it belonged to.
Paramedics arrived at the plaza and transported three of the victims to a trauma centre with one of them — a woman — succumbing to her injuries. Two of the victims underwent emergency surgery, police said.
Frank, the owner of Supreme West Indian Cuisine restaurant and bar, stood in the pouring midday rain in a bus shelter, taking pictures of his business and answering a slew of phone calls.
Frank said four “regulars” showed up at his restaurant before closing and asked for food, but his kitchen had just shut down, so he made them some chips as they enjoyed beers on the patio.
“I left the two guys on the patio and left 20 minutes before the shooting,” said Frank.
The restaurant, located on the east end of the plaza, had a cluster of 22 shell casings visible beside its covered patio.
Forensic officers found more and a few bullet holes through the restaurant’s front window and investigated a Mazda and an Acura parked in front of the businesses.
The Acura looked to be hit with five shots and beside it were a collection of 13 police markers with shell casings under them in a tight cluster.
The man and woman killed in the shootout have been identified as Braydon McCann, 22, and Sarah Prehay, 23, both of Toronto.
Their deaths marked the 49th and 50th homicides of the year in Toronto.
No suspect descriptions have been released.
Acting duty Insp. Todd Jocko arrived on scene and during a torrential downpour spoke about the huge amounts of shell casings found in the parking lot.
“And we believe that several firearms were used,” Jocko said.
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Linda Caruso, who has lived south of the plaza for decades, said, “It’s just disgusting what is going on,” in reference to the recent shootings and homicides across the city. Caruso said she heard about five shots being fired after being awoken from her sleep.
According to Toronto Police statistics, as of Monday there had been 270 shootings and firearm discharges in Toronto with 26 deaths and 64 injured. The quadruple shooting on Wednesday bumped those grim gun violence stats up to at least 28 killed and 66 wounded.
In comparison, in all of 2023 there were 345 shooting events in the city with 29 killed and 139 injured.
The latest slayings now have the city on pace for about 90 homicides by year’s end — just shy of the 98 endured in 2018, when Toronto surpassed a homicide record that had stood for nearly three decades.
Anyone with information regarding this shooting is asked to call 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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