The party on the 22nd floor had been going on and on, with “lots of cussing” and people coming and going, making it hard for her to sleep. Early Sunday morning, at about 6:50 a.m., Bergeron was jolted awake by gunfire — about five shots.
What she didn’t yet know was that two men had been fatally shot next door to her condo, in a new building near Queen St. and Dovercourt Ave.
“I went out onto my balcony and there was a girl there. She’d climbed over from the balcony (of the next unit) where there was a shooting.”
The young woman was rambling and appeared drunk. “She was freaking out. She kept on pacing back and forth,” said Bergeron, 22. The woman told Bergeron she had gone onto the balcony for a cigarette and heard a fight break out behind her.
“She thought she was going to get shot,” Bergeron said of the woman, who looked to be in her 20s. “She was screaming bloody murder.”
Bergeron brought her in out of the rain, offered her a glass of water and suggested she stay, but the woman headed back to the crime scene next door.
That’s when, Bergeron says, “I heard the most blood-curdling scream I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”
Suddenly, someone was banging on Bergeron’s door. “I went to go open it but she was running away. Next thing you know, I’m calling 911,” she said. “It was awful.”
Toronto police confirmed that the two men were found dead inside the condo just after 7 a.m. They later confirmed that four suspects were being sought, but did not say whether they believed the unnamed victims had been targeted.
“We have some idea, some direction in this case,” Det.-Sgt. Tam Bui told reporters outside the Edge on Triangle Park condo on Lisgar St.
Police gathered security video from the general area, and forensic officers were seen going in and out of the building and gathering evidence in the east-side elevators. The crime scene spilled out into the hallway.
“It’s a homicide scene. It’s unpleasant,” Bui said, standing a couple of metres away from discarded tall cans of beer and cider. “We have information that several parties were going on in the building last night,” he added. “We do not know what connection the shooting might have to those parties.”
He noted that police had identified some witnesses, but are seeking others who might have heard or seen anything suspicious, and “anyone who might know the occupants of this unit.”
This is the second double homicide in the GTA in five days, on the heels of a shooting at a Vaughan café last Wednesday that left a man and woman dead.
On Sunday morning, more residents were awakened by the young woman’s screaming than by the gunshots.
“I could feel it deep from her insides. She was screaming a lot, for like 15 seconds,” said Doruk Akal, who lives two doors down from the cordoned-off suite.
“It’s surreal,” said Caleb Chua, who lives a couple units away. “It’s upsetting, really.”
Kay Adekoya, who lives on the 21st floor of the east tower, woke to police officers knocking on his door. “I was shaken,” he said. “It’s uncharacteristic for the building.”
Given that most of the condo’s residents are in their 20s, Adekoya says there are regular parties. “The weekend does get pretty busy.” he said. “It’s a nice area. It’s close to Queen St. It’s unfortunate.”
Erin Glacier, who lives on the 18th floor, was already up when the shooting occurred near the northeast corner of the building.
“I’m afraid to go home now,” she said.
The building made headlines earlier this month when the Toronto Media Arts Centre, a coalition of non-profit arts groups, filed a lawsuit against the city and condo developer Urbancorp over an alleged breach of contract.
After waiting almost four years to get established in a promised 36,000-square-foot space at the base of the condo building, the group was suddenly informed that its purchase and sale agreement for the facility had been terminated, after the developer missed its deadline for closure following construction delays.
The city and Urbancorp have until June 29 to file a statement of defence.
Resident Caleb Chua, reflecting on Sunday’s shooting, questioned the security policy at the new condo building. Until recently, its ground-floor doors remained unlocked, he says.
That changed over the past several weeks, but there is still no apparent sign-in protocol for guests. “Anybody can just kind of walk in,” he said.
“Why is a simple system like checking in visitors and signing them out not happening?”
The underground garage, a Green P facility, falls under the Toronto Parking Authority, but “parking spot poaching” and potentially unwanted entrants persist, Chua added. He plans to raise the issue at an upcoming condo board meeting.
Calls by the Star to the Edge property manager Sunday afternoon were not returned before press time.
TORONTO POLICE SERVICES
Abdiwel Abdullahi (left) and Mohamed Abdiwal Dirie (right)
Toronto police have identified two men who were shot to death Sunday.
Mohamed Abdiwal Dirie and Abdiwel Abdullahi, both 26, of Toronto, were killed in a condo near Queen St. W. and Dovercourt Rd.
Residents of the highrise were jolted awake just before 7 a.m. Sunday by the sound of gunshots coming from a unit on the 22nd floor.
Police later confirmed that two men were found dead inside the unit, where a neighbour said she heard sounds of an ongoing party for three days.
The deaths of Dirie and Abdullahi bring Toronto’s homicide tally for 2015 up to 25.
The investigation is ongoing. Police have confirmed that four suspects, all in their mid-20s are being sought, though it is unclear if the victims were targeted.
With files from Christopher Reynolds, Vanessa Lu, and Sean Wetselaar.
Source:Toronto Star