Vigil held following deadly Toronto festival shooting, 2 victims identified

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A crowd of around 50 people gathered outside a church in Toronto’s St. Clair West neighbourhood Monday evening to begin the process of healing after the Salsa on St. Clair mass shooting, which killed two men and injured five others, and sent thousands of revelers running for safety.

The evening got underway with a sacred fire in the Healing Garden at St. Matthew’s United Church on St. Clair Ave. W. at Rushton Road, followed by a vigil in its parking lot.

“All are welcome to gather as one community of peace,” organizers wrote in a post on Facebook.

‘A gentle evening’

Speaking with CP24 shortly before the gathering began, Pastor Jenni King-Feheley, who led it alongside Elder Catherine Brooks and Pastor Miguel Fernandez, of Iglesia Hispano Cafe con Cristo/Bloor Street United Church, said local faith leaders wanted to do something to help people collectively grieve what they experienced over the weekend.

“So tonight, it is a gentle evening, a very, very gentle evening where people can feel together, where we can just pause for that moment in time, acknowledge what we’re feeling and from there begin the healing journey that a community needs and quite frankly a city needs, and I’m a pastor, I can say it, the world needs,” she said.

She said that journey of healing begins with loving one another.

“Because really and truly what else is there to do on this earth? It’s about forgiveness. It’s about moving through. It’s about lessons learned. It’s about building community. It’s about supporting our youth. … It’s about all of this. It’s about loving,” King-Feheley said.

“Yes, there’s anger. Yes, there’s so much pain. Yes, bitterness. But what do those lead us to do? And if they lead us to places where we’re twisting inside then how is that going to make anything better for anybody?”

‘Pain will not have the final word’

Speaking during the vigil, Rojas said for many Latinos in attendance at Saturday’s festival, a celebration of culture became a scene of fear, one that is all too familiar for many who fled unrest in their homeland.

“We fled violence for peace and now we see violence again,” he said prior to repeating thrice and louder each time: “May it never happen again.”

“We are here to declare that pain will not have the final word.”

Fernandez added that “bad people need to know that the Latino community is strong, hard-working, and resilient,” before again repeating three times, “May it never happen again.”

Shondelle Reis lost her son Joshua to gun violence in 2023 and knew one of the bystanders who was shot and is still in the hospital.

“I came out here tonight because one of my youths that normally attended one of our programs was shot while celebrating a fun family festive in broad daylight,” she told CTV News Toronto on Monday evening.

“And after visiting her at the hospital today, I got to understand that this event was taking place and I just came out to support her because she could not be here for herself, and to support myself and support the families who have lost loved ones to gun violence. It’s always a tragic story to lose children to gun violence, and we need to come together and stand and to echo our voices that enough is enough.”

Reis went on to say that everyday the life of another person is taken by gun violence.

“(It) doesn’t matter if they were involved or they are not, just innocent bystanders. It’s sad to see that loved ones, our loved ones, our youths are dying innocently and are having life-altering, changing decisions,” she said.

Toronto police ID victims

On Monday afternoon, Toronto police identified the two people who were killed.

Shaquan Quashie, 25, and Cesar Vernaza, 20, were both shot when two groups exchanged gunfire during the Salsa on St. Clair street festival on Saturday night.

One of them was pronounced dead on scene, while the other succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

The five people who were hit by the gunfire were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

During a news conference, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw confirmed that Quashie and Vernaza were “targeted,” adding the other victims were “bystanders” merely caught in the gunfire.

Denkiw said that the deceased individuals were known to one another but didn’t elaborate on the nature of their relationship.

• READ MORE: Community wants to see changes to Salsa on St. Clair festival in wake of deadly shooting: councillor

Demkiw then went on to say that events like the one that occurred on Saturday night “need to serve as a reckoning” when it comes to the need for action to address gun violence.

“Shootings are down in this city over 26 per cent compared to the same time last year but when a brazen shooting occurs in a public setting like what happened this weekend it understandably shakes the sense of safety and security that Torontonians understandably expect and deserve,” he said.

‘Active shooter’ initially reported

Saturday’s shooting occurred at around 8 p.m. on St. Clair Avenue West near Arlington Avenue as thousands of people took in the annual Salsa on St. Clair festival.

Police initially said that they were looking for an “active shooter” in the moments after the gunfire erupted.

However, they clarified at a news conference later that night that was no longer the case as the situation was fluid and rapidly changing.

Demkiw said two firearms were recovered from the scene following the shooting.

Investigation continues

At this point, no arrests have been made and Demkiw said police have set up an online portal for members of the public to upload any images or footage from the neighbourhood that could be relevant to the ongoing investigation.

“We are not saying anything about suspects at this time. It is very much still early – frankly hours – and the amount of video and witness statements to go through is exceptional,” the police chief said.

“Our investigators are diligently pouring through that and doing everything they can to run down every single lead.”

Victims had grown up together

Police have refused to speculate about what might have motivated the shooting, other than saying that both victims, who both grew up together in a nearby housing complex, appear to have been targeted.

Speaking with CTV News Toronto on Monday, the mother of one of the victims Shaquan Quashie said her son had given her a hug earlier in the day and told her he was headed to the Salsa on St. Clair festival.

“I said, ‘You don’t even speak the language where are you going, bro?’ – and the very last thing he said to me is ‘God is good’,” she said.

Sherodon Quashie said that when she learned of the shooting later that night she ran to the festival and was later taken to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where she’d wait for hours prior to being notified that her only son, Shaquan, had succumbed to his injuries.

“I don’t have a son. My son is gone. My daughter, now, doesn’t have a brother,” she said.

Quashie said she wants police to catch those responsible so she can better understand what happened.

“I’m angry. I want to see his face. I want to know. I want to look him into his face into his eyes and answer one question: why. That’s all I want to know, why,” she said.

Festival organizers speak out

In a statement, Salsa on St. Clair organizers, which include TLN Media Group and Canada Salsa Festivals Project, said the mass shooting at Salsa on St. Clair “destroyed a joyous, safe, family-friendly celebration of Latino culture that has run annually since 2005.”

“We are devastated by the reports of people injured and killed by the actions of reckless criminals who invaded this peaceful event. Our hearts go out to all those affected by this senseless violence. And we are thankful for the quick and overwhelming response to the shootings by Toronto Police,” they wrote.

Organizers went on to say that the festival was created to “revitalize a dormant business strip where some well-known Latino restaurants had popped up” and grew into a “top summer attraction for people from all backgrounds and a big source of pride for our Latino community.”

They then expressed their frustration that the chief of police, the mayor and local Coun. Josh Matlow stood at the scene of the crime on Saturday and “normaliz(ed) mass shootings at family festivals in Toronto.”

They said only Coun. Mike Colle “stepped forward to object to the Deputy Chief’s statement and insist that officials must do everything possible to prevent these criminals from ever being able to destroy lives and terrify people.”

They added that social media accounts about other Toronto street festivals last month reported the arrival of groups of people looking for trouble and making trouble, charging that city officials were or should have been aware of these warning signs.

“And those public officials are responsible for directing and empowering police to deploy the necessary resources to respond to such threats before they turn into crime scenes,” they said.

“Therefore, unless City officials provide concrete commitments to enhance policing and security on and around St. Clair Avenue, we will be discontinuing our involvement. We refuse to subject any of our people, friends, clients and community supporters to situations where public officials responsible for preventing crime and ensuring public safety resist the community’s calls to do better.”

A number of organizations are also now in the process of organizing a roundtable on Friday with community experts at the Columbus Centre to explore ways to address the issue of gangs and gun violence.

Festival safety questioned

Saturday’s shooting at one of Toronto’s most popular summer festivals has raised questions about whether additional security measures are needed, with Matlow telling Newstalk 1010 earlier in the day that he has heard from some members of the neighbourhood who want Salsa on St. Clair relocated to a park or perhaps shut down earlier in the night.

• READ MORE: ‘Reckless criminals’ will not stop Toronto from hosting street festivals: mayor

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, however, released a video message earlier on Monday in which she said that we cannot “let reckless criminals stop Toronto’s tradition of outdoor street festivals.”

Speaking with reporters, Denkiw said street festivals are a “vital part of Toronto’s vibrant culture” and should continue. But he did concede that the events of this weekend “underscore the need for ongoing discussions between the police, the city and event organizers about the measure necessary to keep public events safe.”

“There needs to be a discussion about how we allow people to enjoy street festivals freely with an appropriate police presence and if we need to introduce additional security measures, such as controlled access points and security screening,” he said.

Salsa on St. Clair was attended by an estimated 13,000 people. The festival’s final day on Sunday was subsequently cancelled due to the ongoing police investigation.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Janice Golding and CP24’s Andrew Brennan