Toronto mayor vows to 'do everything' to rid city of gangs following weekend violence - Action News
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Toronto mayor vows to 'do everything' to rid city of gangs following weekend violence

Toronto Mayor John Tory vowed on Monday to "do everything" to rid the city of gangs in the wake of five deaths this weekend.

Police, city working together to find permanent solutions to crime problem, John Tory says

Toronto Mayor John Tory vowed on Monday to 'do everything' to rid the city of gangs in the wake of five deaths this weekend. (CBC)

Toronto Mayor John Tory vowed on Mondayto "do everything" to rid the city of gangs in the wake of five deaths this weekend.

Tory said he is talking to Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders every day about the problem of violence.

"I'll be seeing him later today and then we're going to continue to discuss how we can deploy every possible resource to scoop these people up off of the street, gang by gang, street by street, gun by gun," Tory told reporters.

"I don't direct the police, the chief does, but I know that he and his men and women are working hard to make sure that we do everything together that we can to rid the city of these people, and that's all we can do."

'We're going to continue to discuss how we can deploy every possible resource to scoop these people up off of the street, gang by gang, street by street, gun by gun."- Mayor John Tory

Police investigating 5 deaths this weekend

Police are investigating five deaths this weekend.

  • JenasNyarko, 31,was in a parked car with three other people in the area ofReplinRoad and Old Meadow Lane around 2 a.m. Sunday, when a silverSUVdrove by and opened fire.Nyarko, who emigrated to Canada from Ghana in 2001, was on her way home after a funeral when the shooting happened. She was a passenger in the rear of the vehicle. She died in hospital. Police said she lived in Toronto by herselfand worked at a shelter.
Toronto paramedics perform CPR on a woman shot in North York early Sunday. The woman, 31, was rushed to hospital, but pronounced dead there. (Supplied)
  • The bodies of two men were found early Sunday in an Etobicokein a home. Both men had suffered gunshot wounds. Police and paramedics were called to the scene, on LightwoodDrive, near Kipling Avenue and Albion Drive, after 2 a.m. On Monday, police identified the victims asPatrick McKenna, 20,andDalbert Allison, 40, both of Toronto.
  • A man in his 20s or 30s was found dead with severalstab wounds outside a plaza in Rexdaleon Saturday afternoon. Police saidtwo men got into a "physical altercation" in a strip mall parking lot, near Martin Grove Road and John Garland Boulevard, shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. When officers arrived, they found aman without vital signs. He was taken to hospital, but died of his injuries there. A Toronto man, 30, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death.
  • Peel police said a body was found in a burningvehicle in Mississauga on Sunday evening. Police were called tothe area of Dixie and Lakeshore roads just after 6:50 p.m. for a "suspicious" vehicle fire. The body was found after the fire was extinguished.The personhas not yet been identified. One man is in custody, but no charges have been laid.

Friend remembersNyarko as being 'very jovial'

Ainka Culzac, a friend of Nyarko, the woman who was killed Sunday,said they met at Centennial College several years ago and hadkept in touch with each other even after graduating in 2013.

Jenas Nyarko, was in a parked car with three other people in the area of Replin Road and Old Meadow Lane at around 2 a.m. Sunday, when a silver SUV drove by and opened fire, police say. (Toronto Police Service)

Nyarkowas a "very jovial" person who was "always smiling," Culzacsaid.

"She was very, very fun, very career oriented.She was very focused on what she wanted to do," Culzac told CBC Toronto.

"I was very shocked to hear that she was killed in such a manner."

Etobicokehomicide victims identified

On Monday afternoon, police released the identities of two men who were found dead in a house in Etobicoke. They are Patrick McKenna, 20,andDalbertAllison, 40, both of Toronto.

Police say multiple shots were fired into the home located in the Lightwood Drive and Sanagan Road area shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday.

Post mortems were conducted on Monday and the cause of death for both men was determined to be gunshot wounds.

The bodies of Dalbert Allison, 40, (left) and Patrick McKenna, 20, were found early Sunday in an Etobicoke in a home. (Toronto Police Service)


Police say they are looking for two suspects in connection with that shooting.

Investigators describe one suspect as a male who was last seen wearing a black top and red track pants, and his face was concealed by either a mask or a hood. No description was immediately available for the second suspect, police say.

Police had 'great success' with recent raids: Tory

Tory saidrecent police raids that targeted at gang activity is a good start.

"They had great success last week in taking down one gang and in seizing a lot of guns and arresting a lot of people, and I'm confident that kind of success is going to be continued," Tory said.

"We are working together, the police service and the city, and we're hopeful to have help as we do for some of these kinds of things from the other governments."

Some 70 people allegedly linkedawest-endstreet gang were arrested in raids last week.

More than 800 police officers executed some 50 warrants targeting the Five Point Generalz, an alleged criminal groupthat police say has roots in the area of Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West.

The raids were the result of a nine-month investigation dubbed Project Patton, according to Saunders. Arrests were made inToronto, Durham, York and Peel regions.