Second man charged in playground shooting

YOUNG GIRLS HURT

A second man has been charged in connection with a brazen daylight shooting at a Toronto playground that wounded two young sisters earlier this summer, police said Thursday.

Tarrick Rhoden faces 17 charges, including attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

The 23-year-old had been wanted on a Canada-wide warrant along with T’Quan Robertson, who is still being sought on several charges, including attempted murder and assault.

“A lot of people worked very hard in order to resolved this, and the way we look at it is we have two out of three and now we’re going to find the third guy,” Det. Sgt. Jim Gotell said in an interview.

The June 14 incident was one in a string of highprofile shootings in recent months that prompted increased calls for action to deal with gun violence in the city.

Gotell said the playground shooting had an impact on police as well.

“I think it really affected the investigators working here because we’re used to seeing people getting shot, but we’re not used to seeing two little girls being shot playing in a playground,” he said.

Police had previously arrested 21-year-old Sheldon Eriya, of Markham, Ont., in the case, alleging he drove the vehicle in which the shooting suspects fled the playground.

Rhoden was arrested by provincial police on Wednesday in Algonquin Highlands, about around 275 kilometres northeast of Toronto. Police said they believe he and Robertson were being helped by friends or acquaintances to evade arrest.

Gotell said Rhoden was found at the cottage of 59-year-old Vern McPhail, of Brampton, Ont., who also arrested and charged with accessory to commit an indictable offence.

More charges are expected against Rhoden once officers finish searching McPhail’s property, Gotell said.

“Over the course of the summer I think our information was a little bit stronger on Mr. Rhoden, so we spent a lot of time, energy and resources into finding him,” he said, adding that investigators will now focus their efforts on finding 23-year-old Robertson.

Investigators said there were 16 children at the eastend playground in June when two men got out of a truck and opened fire. At least 10 rounds were fired and the intended target fled the area, police said.

The two injured girls, aged five and nine years old, underwent several surgeries. The five-year-old was shot in her abdomen while the nine-year-old was shot above her ankle.

In July, Toronto police announced the force was adding 200 frontline officers to the night shift for the summer.