Three charged in February shooting
Three men are facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, after an alleged gang hit left a dog walker with multiple gunshot wounds — but he was not the intended victim, York Regional Police said Friday.
The 65-year-old man was shot multiple times while walking his dog on a residential street in King Township, near Schomberg, on Feb. 12.
According to police, the shooting happened on Centre Street, between Rebellion Way and Church Street, at about 8:40 a.m.
The man “innocently” gestured at an SUV that drove by at a high speed, police Insp. Jim Killby said at a news conference in February.
The driver then turned the SUV around and allegedly drove at the man, police said.
A passenger in the front seat allegedly fired “several times” at the man before the suspects fled west on Centre Street.
The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds. At the time, police said he was “fighting for his life.”
Police said Friday the man is “going through a lengthy recovery process, but will survive.”
However, police allege he was never the intended target of the shooting.
According to investigators, three men believed to be members of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, or MS-13, “were hired by an organized crime group to kill a man.”
“The suspects targeted the wrong person and shot the victim instead,” police said.
In an investigation dubbed Project Rebellion, police executed search warrants at multiple locations in Toronto between May 18 and Thursday.
Police charged eight people, including three suspects who face charges for conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder in relation to the drive-by shooting.
The eight suspects face multiple other charges related to weapons, drugs, theft and other crimes.
The suspects range in age from 20 to 42 years old. None of the charges have been proven in court.
Police said they seized a handgun, an AK-47 assault rifle, ammunition and drugs over the course of the investigation.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the accused and the alleged shooting to contact the Organized Crime Bureau at 1-866-875-5423 ext. 6970 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-2228477.