Cold-blooded murder...

...at one of the busiest intersections in Hogtown...

TORONTO ••• One person is dead and two others remain in hospital after gunfire erupted in broad daylight in the area of Queen Street West and Peter Street, Saturday evening.

“When I heard the first gunshot I looked outside because I was in a streetcar and I saw one guy in a white shirt, a black man, fall to the ground."

**********

UPDATE: Don't be black, don't be black...

GAWWWDAMMMMITTT!

Urban assassins apparently learning from their mistakes... bodycount rises to two...

Smoke Dawg was Jamaican and a member of the Halal Gang, made up of him along with Puffy L’z, Mo-G, and SAFE. Smoke Dawg had ties with Drake’s OVO and served as the opening act on the superstar’s Boy Meets World European tour last year.

Second dead man identified...

The two men, both from Toronto, were formally identified by police Sunday as 21-year-old Jahvante Smart and 28-year-old Ernest Modekwe. According to family and friends, Smart was a rising rapper who went by the stage name “Smoke Dawg,” while Modekwe was a music brand manager who was also known as “Kosi.”

That's the 49th and 50th homicides of 2018. According to police statistics, there have been 199 shootings in the city as of June 25.

I blame the National Rapper Association.

**********

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: Canada's post-national...

...social justice broadcaster......not too big on identifying information...but there are pictures of... count 'em... eight very caucasian people throughout the article...

Two men are now dead following a "brazen" daylight shooting in Toronto's downtown entertainment district on Saturday evening. One of the two men was believed to be in his 20s, while the woman is believed to be in her 30s.

I had to find another source, but, fwiw, the 37 year-old woman involved is an innocent bystander who caught a stray.

**********

LAST WORD: Mayor Tory says he's "damn mad"...

...maybe he should have a word with his buddy Drake...

Mayor John Tory actually presented Aubrey “Drake” Graham with a key to the city in February 2016 — about six months after two people were shot to death during the rapper’s OVO Fest after-party at Muzik nightclub, another unsolved crime the rapper has stayed silent on despite Crime Stoppers urging him to ask witnesses to come forward.

Does Drake have space to get another memorial tattoo?

Nota Bene... Apparently no spokes-warriors from Black Lives Matter, Toronto were available for comment.

Toronto Homicide Cops round up...

...farmers, hunters and... wait a minute...

Toronto paramedics confirmed that one male victim, since identified by police as Mohammed Gharda, 17, of Toronto, was pronounced dead at the scene after a shooting in Scarborough early Sunday morning. An 18-year-old male was taken to hospital with serious, possibly life-threatening injuries.

But, wait... there's more...

"One man is dead following a shooting in the city’s downtown in the area of Yonge and Wellington streets on Sunday night, Toronto police confirm. Three armed suspects fled the area westbound on Wellington Street in a small black car."

Surprise, surprise...

"He has been identified as 28-year-old Toronto-resident Jaiden Jackson. Police say Jackson was at Pick 6, a newly opened restaurant and sports bar co-owned by the rapper Drake and his head of security, when he left with an unidentified woman around 9 p.m. "

Toronto's 30th & 31st homicides of 2018.

**********

UPDATE: The hits just keep on coming...

"A male victim believed to be in his teens was injured in a North York shooting at around 2 p.m. Monday afternoon in the area of Jane Street and Sheppard Avenue. Two male suspects were seen fleeing the area after the shooting, according to officers. No descriptions of the suspects have been released."

**********

RELATED: Pays you money, takes you chances...

Toronto police are investigating after one man sustained serious injuries in a stabbing at Spadina Station Sunday afternoon. Police said the stabbing may have taken place in the pedestrian tunnel at the busy station.

Subway trains on lines 1 are currently bypassing Spadina Station because of the investigation.

**********

LAST WORD: A little "Felonious Interruptus"

The two suspects taken into custody were identified by police as Amiin Mohamoud, 18, and Zarie Pitamba, 18, both of Toronto.

Each is facing a dozen charges relating to firearms possession and drugs possession.

Lawyer for slain Toronto rapper says...

..."enough useless gun bans"... urges politicians to do something real...

"Other rappers killed in recent months include Tyronne Noseworthy, 19, aka Fourty4Double0, who had worked with Houdini; Farah Hersi Handule, 23, aka 22 Filthy; Jahquar Stewart, 24, aka Bvlly, who had also worked with Houdini; and Keeshawn Brown, 18, aka Why-S, who had collaborated with Fourty4Double0."

It probably wouldn't hurt if they chose their, uh... associates a little more carefully as well...

Street gang expert claims slain Toronto rapper Dimarjio Jenkins, aka Houdini, had ties to the violent Young Buck Killas.

Well, Houdini's bodyguard didn't exactly measure up...

"A police source told CP24 the 15-year-old boy boy returned fire in the incident and is now facing gun-related charges."

So much for the Prime Minstrel's gun ban.

Thank your lucky stars...

...all these dumbass gangbangers get their gun smarts from Vin Diesel movies, or we'd all really be in trouble.Trust me... all that holding your weapon sideways and one-handed snap-shooting has saved countless lives.

Ask a Toronto rapper.

Better yet, ask THE Toronto rapper.

THE MUSIC THAT SOOTHES MEN'S SOULS... 'TORONTO MAN' EDITION...

-- "A courtroom erupted in tears and applause after a jury found Toronto rapper Christopher Lucas, 27,  guilty of two counts of second-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Christine Crooks, 18, of Toronto, and 20-year-old Juliana Pannunzio of Windsor at a Fort Erie Airbnb.   Lucas aka ‘El Plaga’, who did not testify at trial, showed no emotion when the verdicts were read." --

Hey... what's new with 'Scarborough Man'? 

DAILY GTA MAYHEM... TORONTO 'COMMUNITY HOUSING' EDITION

-- "A man in his 20s has been rushed to hospital in critical condition following a shooting at Jane Street and Steeles Avenue in North York early Monday morning, Toronto Police say.   Two males dressed in black were spotted leaving the area in a dark-coloured sedan." --

THE GUNMEN JUSTIN DOESN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT

UPDATE2: TORONTO HOMICIDE #36/2023...

-- "The second suspect, identified as 27-year-old Toronto resident Yasir Mohamed, has been charged with  first-degree murder in the death of 36-year-old Mohamed Ahmed, brother of Toronto rapper Mustafa the Poet." --

And...

-- "Brian O’Donnell, 60, who allegedly shot a woman at a Toronto east-end apartment building on Monday morning has been arrested and is facing several charges, including attempted murder." --

NO GUN... NO PROBLEM...

-- "Toronto Police say a fire that destroyed a bar in Mimico on Wednesday was sparked when Kazimierz Babina, 65, threw Molotov cocktails into the establishment." --

MEANWHILE... IN OTHER 'TORONTO MAN' NEWS...

I GUESS HIPHOP WASN'T PAYING THE BILLS...

-- Ontario Provincial Police have identified Toronto rapper Deshawn 'Thorobread' Davis, 35, as a suspect wanted in connection with the kidnapping of Elnaz Hajtamiri. Police said they are still searching for the two other suspects wanted in the abduction investigation and believe they both reside in the Greater Toronto Area." --

UPDATE: SEX STALKER IN TORONTO PATH SYSTEM ID'D...

-- "Toronto Police are seeking an arrest warrant for 27-year-old Samoual Elamam." --

THE MUSIC THAT SOOTHES MEN'S SOULS

-- "Toronto rapper Hassan Ali, better known by his moniker Top5, wanted for months in connection with the North York killing of 20-year-old Hashim Omar Hashi has been arrested in Los Angeles." --

And the Toronto rap community responds....

-- "A real g woulda went out blazin, da nikka probably came out on some hands clasp shit mumbling plz officer. Goofy." --

At least now he gets his 'spittin' match' with the Mayor...

-- "Ali also demanded a sit down with Toronto Mayor John Tory, telling Instagram "Call John Tory and tell him I fUcking want a sit-down for fUcking 30 minutes. I wanna spit my facts, and he’ll spit his facts. I run Toronto, you fUcking goof." --

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH

" -- "Any Toronto school with Henry in the name is a fucking train wreck." --

Would your father...

... cover up a murder for you?

-- TORONTO -- A six-year-old girl watched helplessly from her carseat as her mom allegedly lunged forward from the backseat with a "large" kitchen knife and butchered her dad as he drove along a residential street near High Park over the weekend, Toronto Police said Monday.

This woman just happens to travel with a large kitchen knife? What's up with that?

The victim, Ludlow Gillespie, 25, was driving north on Windermere Ave., north of Lakeshore Blvd., around 2:30 p.m. Saturday.His common-law wife of seven years, Melissa Lewis, 24, was sitting in the back seat behind the driver.

The couple's daughter was in the back seat beside her mother and the woman's father was in the front passenger seat.

The victim and deceased had "a history of domestic violence" and both are known to police.

And Grampa just disappears into the wind with the little girl.

Chalk up another one for Toronto's "code of silence".

**********

UPDATE: Not just a pretty face

The 25-year-old aspiring Toronto rapper known as Mecca was stabbed in the neck allegedly by his common-law wife as they drove through a quiet west end neighbourhood Saturday afternoon.

And it looks like Grampy is still on the lam.

UPDATE: TORONTO HOMICIDE #36/2023

YET ANOTHER SHOOTING SHOCKER...

-- "The victim of the shooting in the Sherbourne Street and Shuter Street area has been identified as Mohamed Ahmed, 36, of Toronto." --

SNITCH INITIATIVE ILLUSTRATES COP CLUELESSNESS

-- "Toronto Police are also encouraging the public to report information anonymously to help make the streets safer." --

The Torontology subreddit is saying the dead guy (aka Arab) is the brother of Toronto rapper 'Mustafa the Poet.' Ah, yes... the music that soothes mens souls.

THE MUSIC THAT SOOTHES MEN'S SOULS

--  "A Toronto rapper, 22-year-old Christopher Lucas, aka ‘El Plaga,’ has now been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting at a party in Fort Erie that left two young women dead, Niagara Regional Police confirmed Thursday. He faces two counts of first-degree murder." --

BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE

-- "York Regional Police have charged 26-year-old Efrah Mohamud of Toronto in connection with the fatal stabbing of 28-year-old Elijah Ekland of Mississauga at a nightclub in Vaughan earlier this month." --

TORONTO HOMICIDE #50/2021

-- "The body found earlier this week near a dumpster in Toronto’s west end has been identified as Varsha Gajula, 41, of Caledon." --

And...

-- "One of the victims was then arrested and charged with killing Hassan, but police can't name him because he was 17 at the time of the shooting in January." --

WE ARE ALL TORONTONIANS NOW:

-- "A man in his 20s was rushed to hospital after a shooting in a residential area of Ajax around 1:10 p.m. on Friday afternoon." --

Meet the Prezidenteeh

You ever wonder where stereotypes come from? Trust me, my friends... the suspense isn't the only thing that could kill you.
The weight of all that metal... I'm surprised Prezidenteeh could actually lift a gun above his waist...

-- TORONTO -- A Toronto rapper is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and the robbery of a Leaside jewelry store where a clerk was wounded.

Mark Garfield Moore, 27, is charged with the 2010 murders of Jahmeel Spence, 27, Courthney Facey, 18, Mike James, 23, and Carl Cole, 45, and the heist of Arax Jewelry.

Moore was in custody for an unrelated shooting incident in March in the Entertainment District.

Yup... another shocker.

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RELATED: Bright lights, big city

-- TORONTO -- It’s been two years since Christopher Skinner was brutally beaten, run over and left for dead on a downtown Toronto street.

Christopher had been out in the Entertainment District with his sister celebrating her 23rd birthday the night he was killed.

Investigators believe he was on his way home, walking along Adelaide St., possibly attempting to hail a taxi, when his hand brushed up against a black SUV that was stopped at a red light at Victoria St. around 3 a.m.

The occupants of the SUV allegedly beat him up and then drove over him as they took off.

Who says there's no death penalty in Canada?

THE MUSIC THAT SOOTHES MENS SOULS

UPDATE: HOMICIDE #5/2021...

  --  "Toronto Police have upgraded the charge against Hassan Ali — better known as Toronto rapper Top 5 — from accessory after the fact to first-degree murder."  --  

I'M SURE IT'S JUST COINCIDENCE:

  --  "MILWAUKEE — The body of a 42-year-old man found dead in a burning vehicle has been identified as Lamonn Young, also known as Milwaukee rapper Fatboi Gwalla Gwalla."  --  

NO GUN NO PROBLEM:

"A man is in critical condition following an early morning stabbing in Brampton on Saturday, Peel paramedics say. Police say they are searching for three suspects, including two Black males and one white female."

SAVAGE SCARBERIA COUGHS UP ANOTHER ONE

TORONTO HOMICIDE #78/2021

My advice... stay away from face tats, rappers & way cool street names...

Toronto homicide detectives are investigating a fatal shooting after one man was found dead inside the garage of a home at Sheppard Avenue East and Meadowvale Road in Scarborough early Friday morning. No arrests have been made and police have not provided any suspect information.

THE SCOOP via TORONTOLOGY SUBREDDIT:

-- "Rapper lil mell(Vern) twin bro person found dead by dean park." --

TIME TRAVEL WITH ME:    TORONTO HOMICIDE #57/2017

-- "The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. He has been identified as Malique Ellis, also known as Lil Mell, described on social media as an up-and-coming artist in Toronto’s music scene." --

The music that soothes mens souls. 

DIVERSITY/STRENGTH - YOU KNOW THE DRILL:

-- "Toronto resident Juan Pablo Ulloa Zegarra, 36, was taken into custody on Nov. 25 and is facing two counts of robbery with an offensive weapon." --

UPDATE2: TORONTO HOMICIDE #36/2023... THE USUAL, WELL... YOU KNOW...

-- "Toronto Police say Yasir Mohamed, 27, has been arrested in connection with the death of 36-year-old Mohamed Ahmed, brother of Toronto rapper Mustafa the Poet.   Officials say 34-year-old Mohammed Abdullahi remains outstanding." --

Sounds like an episode of 'Newhart'... my brother Mohamed and my other brother Mohamed. 

Meanwhile... over in 'Stinky Cheese Land'...

-- "Three young women have been charged with plotting an Islamist terrorist attack in Paris after they were apprehended by French authorities." --

THE GUNS THAT JUSTIN NEVER WANTS TO TALK ABOUT...

WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE GUYS WITH THE WAY-COOL NAMES?

-- "Shaquille Miller, 30, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm. A police officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries while facilitating the arrest." --

Not Shaq's first rodeo...

-- "Police have released the names of three men who were arrested after the shootings at Monday's celebration of the Toronto Raptors' NBA Championship." --  

Don't you worry, this dummy'll be back...

-- "Prosecutors have stayed a first-degree murder charge against well-known Toronto rapper Top 5 after a judge excluded key evidence." --

And... no gun... no problem.

WELL, THAT'S GOTTA BE THE YOUNGEST 31 YEAR-OLD I'VE EVER SEEN...

YOU REMEMBER THE PICTURES OF POOR LIL' OMAR KHADR?

-- "Toronto Police have identified 31-year-old Yahya Ahmed-Mohamoud as the man who was killed in a shooting at Ranee Avenue and Varna Drive this week that Mayor Olivia Chow said ‘has shaken all of Toronto.’" --

AKA Toronto rapper 'John Doe' who was paralysed in a 2018 gunfight, ol' Yahya was also went by 'DriveByKing.'   

Gotta ask... is there anyone too villainous for Olivia Chow to cuddle up to?

OLIVIA'S SOCIALIST PARADISE: ALWAYS THE GUYS WITH THE WAY-COOL NAMES...

-- "Toronto Police are searching for Toronto rapper Jevonn Smith, 30, aka Moula 1st who is wanted in connection with an assault, assault/choking near Danforth and Pape avenues in the city’s east end. Smith is also wanted for fail to comply with undertaking." --

He's also a member of the 'undocumented firearms community.'

When somebody tells you who they are... you should believe them. 

And there's this...

-- "A man in his 60s has critical injuries after being wounded near Sherbourne and Shuter streets in Toronto’s downtown east area late Saturday afternoon, say police." --

PAGING MAYOR JELLO

Yet again... the music that soothes men's souls...

-- "A protege of Toronto superstar Drake, who gave the young rapper a boost by promoting Top5 when he was just 14, Ali isn’t about to let his 'legal troubles' interrupt his music career." --

Sitting down with the Mayor... that might just work...

-- “I think that kind of talk about sort of, you know, where this all arises from, or sort of who’s to blame, is not very constructive,” Toronto Mayor John Tory told reporters in Nathan Phillips Square. --

SMELL THE 'PROFESSIONAL' JOURNALISM:

Ask Toronto Sun reporter Bryan Passifume...

u/torsun_bryan - What’s your take on the Yung Lava situation boss man?

torsun_bryan - If you're wanted for murder and you're driving a truck full of guns, don't speed.

THE USUAL, WELL... YOU KNOW

-- "A shooting in Lawrence Heights at Allen Road, north of Lawrence Avenue West Wednesday evening left two people injured, Toronto police say." --

And...

-- "A man was seriously wounded after being stabbed during a fight near Dundas and Victoria streets area Wednesday night just before 10:30 p.m. for a stabbing." --

NO GUN NO PROBLEM:

-- "Police took a suspect into custody. Shalender Singh, 34, of Toronto, is charged with first-degree murder." --

C'mon... that's just phonin' it in, bro

Apart from "Turning His Life Around"... this is the most overused headline/cliche in crime journalism extant... and it serves no one particularly well...

"An 18-year-old who was murdered in Brampton on Saturday was described as an aspiring rapper who died far too soon."

Alas, in much the same way that 7 year-old me was an aspiring cowboy... or costumed crimefighter... poor Joel will never get to live his dream. More to the point, he was served up a horrific death.

PS • Uploading a video to Youtube doesn't mean you're a star... except maybe in your own mind.

I'm with comedian Chris Rock...

“Why are you lying to these children? Maybe four of them can be anything they want to be. But the other 2,000 better learn how to weld."

"You can be anything you’re good at, as long as they’re hiring. And even then it helps to know somebody.”

**********

RELATED: The music that soothes men's souls...

Let's take a look at Toronto's vibrant & caring rap music scene...Be careful what you wish for...

Jerome Belle was an aspiring rapper who went by the nickname “Murda” and his sister said that he wanted to “go big.”

And...

"Up-and-coming rapper C-Sick Carrington was killed on his way to a recording studio."

And...

23-year-old Anthony Spencer, an aspiring rap artist, died after friends dumped him at a Scarborough hospital early Saturday.

And...

Apparently rapper Michael "Trick" George of the group "Lowlife" gets to live, so to speak, his art.

Then, there's your double-double...

"Smoke Dawg," a rising rapper, was Jamaican and a member of the Halal Gang, made up of him along with Puffy L’z, Mo-G, and SAFE. “Kosi” was a music brand manager.

Hells bells... you might as well meet the Class of 2018.

**********

LAST WORD: Smell the Professional Journalism

Let's wrap up here...

"Talented music producer and artist," Quinn Taylor was brutally and inexplicably cut down in his artistic prime. He was "transitioning" from living with his mother to living with a girlfriend."

Transitioning, huh? That sounds way more impressive than filling a garbage bag with clothes and grabbing a bus to Rexdale.

Don't get me started on "street names."