Hwy. 401 in crosshairs of gunfire at vigil
Video captures mayhem of dangerous exchange after rapper’s funeral
Investigators were shocked when they saw the images of several gunmen attending a vigil — for a Toronto rapper killed in another brazen shooting — firing indiscriminately in the direction of the heavily travelled Highway 401.
The surveillance video taken from a nearby building and leaked to some media outlets captured the mayhem after a car pulled up on the side of the highway and sprayed a round of bullets at a group of friends and associates of slain Toronto rapper Dimarjio Jenkins.
“The initial rounds come from inside the vehicle into the rear of 55 Beverly Hills Dr., which is where a good portion of people are socializing and drinking outside,” Toronto police Supt. Steve Watts said Friday, describing the sequence of events from Tuesday evening at about 11:20 p.m.
That vehicle sped away and is gone and, “while continuing traffic is going by, there is in excess of 60 rounds discharged back toward the highway. Not in the air, but in response to that perceived threat — but that threat’s no longer there.”
Four separate calibres of shell casings were discovered, meaning at least four guns were fired, Watts said.
Two men walked into a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. One of them faces firearms offences, and is an alleged member of a gang based near North York’s Driftwood Avenue who was recently released on parole after serving a sentence for firearms.
Police have not released his name — or identified the other man who has been charged.
Investigators continue to hunt for other suspects, including the gunmen who opened fire on the vigil from the highway.
Jenkins, who performed under the name Houdini, was buried hours before the gathering after a private family funeral.
He was gunned down in the middle of the afternoon on May 26 near Blue Jays Way and King Street West. Two of his associates returned fire after a lone man emerged from a car and started shooting. All three gunmen are still wanted by police.
Police believe Jenkins, 21, was allied with gang members in the Driftwood area and are investigating the possibility he was killed in retaliation for threats and insults to rival gang members in his music videos.
At least 20 underground GTA rappers have been killed in shootings in the past 10 years, eight of them shot dead within the past year.
Four of those, including Jenkins, performed in music produced by North York-based rap collective UpTop Movement Inc.