Police identify victims in Toronto street festival shooting, no word on suspects

It was just after 8 p.m. on Saturday when gunshots rang out in the middle of the Salsa on St. Clair festival, leaving two people dead and four others with injuries.

Toronto’s police believe the gunfire that ripped through a street festival was targeted.

Chief Myron Demkiw told reporters on Monday afternoon that his force was still trying to track down potential suspects and appealed for information to help investigators.

It was just after 8 p.m. on Saturday when gunshots rang out in the middle of the Salsa on St. Clair festival, sending an estimated 13,000 attendees running for safety.

The shooting left two people dead and four others with injuries.

Police initially feared the scene was an active shooter, but concluded it was “an exchange of gunfire” in the middle of the crowd by two people “targeting each other.”

Investigators secured three different scenes at the festival where they believe shootings took place.

“We are urging anyone who may have captured images or footage, or who has information that could assist the investigation, to contact Toronto police immediately,” Demkiw said.

Demkiw named the two deceased as 25-year-old Shaquan Quashie and 20-year-old Cesar Vernaza.

Police said the two victims knew one another.

Demkiw said it was too early for officers to have suspect information to share.

“We’re not saying anything about suspects at this time,” the chief said.

“It’s very much still early — frankly hours — and the amount of video and witness statements to go through is exceptional. Our investigators are diligently poring through that and doing everything they can to run down every single lead.”

The scene on Saturday night, police said, was chaotic when officers arrived.

“There were people that were injured, there were people that were down,” Toronto police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo explained at the scene on Saturday. “It was a very active and chaotic scene.”

Barredo said it was “difficult to say with certainty” what happened, but that he believed officers were looking for two suspects.

But almost two days later, it appears the search is still ongoing with no suspects or arrests to announce.

“At this time, no arrests have been made and we have no suspect information to share in relation to the shooting at the Salsa on St. Clair festival,” a Toronto police spokesperson said on Monday morning.

“We will keep the media and the public informed should that change.”

Meanwhile, residents and businesses on St. Clair Avenue are starting the new week under the shadow of the shooting.

Edward Ambrosies, who works at Parkers on St. Clair West, said he’d been shutting down the store when the violence erupted.

“We didn’t have an issue this particular year. I was putting up my awning and all of a sudden, people just started running, the incident happened there, but people started coming this way,” he told Global News.

“We literally had a shop full of people.”

Dustin Parchment, who runs the Teknique Toronto studio in the area, said he had felt concerned at the festival all day.

Salsa on St. Clair was cancelled on Sunday as police shut down three separate crime scenes for further analysis.

Demkiw was keen to try to reassure residents that gun violence is down in Toronto.

“Shootings are down in the city over 26 per cent compared to the same time last year,” he said.

“But when a brazen shooting occurs in a public setting, like happened this weekend, it understandably shakes the sense of safety and security that Torontonians expect and deserve.”