No. 1 with a bullet
Shootings at Canadian music icons’ homes raise questions
Straight out of Encino — and the Bridle Path.
The mansions of two Canadian music industry big shots have now recently been shot up — and a security guard was wounded in both incidents.
Two shootings, in two countries, and many unanswered questions.
The first shooting didn’t get as much global attention as the gunfire that erupted at Drake’s $100-million crib on Tuesday.
Most people in The Six have likely heard about the security guard who was wounded at Drake’s Park Lane Circle mansion when gunshots rang out and the shooter, or shooters, sped off in a vehicle.
But there was another shooting just nine days earlier, on April 29, at the home of music industry executive Cash XO in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Encino.
The Iranian-canadian, known as Amir Esmailian in his hometown of Ottawa, is the manager and business partner of Canadian music sensation The Weeknd.
While many Torontonians may not be aware of the earlier shooting, Toronto Police know about all of it.
In both cases, a security guard was hit by gunfire and rushed to the hospital for life-saving surgery.
There were people in both homes when they were attacked, but exactly who was inside is unclear.
Toronto cops are still searching for a motive for the shooting at Drake’s mansion and the shooters in both incidents remain at large.
These shootings may seem like scenes from movies like Straight Outta Compton or 8 Mile, but they’re as real as it gets.
People are in hospital fighting for their lives. It’s surreal. It has been a strange week in the Bridle Path neighbourhood.
While much of the focus has been on the shooting of the unidentified security guard, there have also been arrests of people unrelated to the shooting allegedly trying to get onto Drake’s property on Wednesday and Thursday.
And the shooting in L.A. was eerily similar to the one in Toronto.
Esmailian, who has yet to respond to a request for an interview from the Toronto Sun, is the co-founder of the XO record company with The Weeknd — a fellow Canadian from Scarborough whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye.
Just as cops in Toronto have yet to say if Drake was home at the time of the shooting, police in L.A. aren’t saying if XO or The Weeknd were inside the Encino home when it was shot up.
However, police have said there were people inside both homes at the time of the shootings.
Investigators in Toronto have revealed few details, but nothing has been ruled in or out. “Unfortunately, we are not commenting at this time as the investigation is still ongoing and active,” Toronto Police spokesperson Shannon Eames said. “We are aware of the Encino shooting and are investigating all avenues.”
It’s possible these shootings are completely unrelated.
Although the investigation in Encino was in its early stages, the Los Angeles Times reported that the “incident appeared to be an attempted home invasion with no connection to the music business.”
And FOX 11 News reported that four people fled after several shots were fired, including at least one that struck the guard inside a security shack, but none of the four people inside the home were hurt.
It’s all pretty weird, but violence in and around the rap world is nothing new.
Many rappers have been killed in L.A. and Toronto over the years.
So, shootings at the homes of prominent players in the industry can’t be swept away as nothing. And cops say they won’t be. Toronto Police say they’re treating the incident at
Drake’s home just as they would any other shooting.
Any way you look at it, two of Canada’s biggest names in the hip-hop and rap world,
Drake and The Weeknd’s manager, were the victims of gunfire in which people paid to protect them were wounded.