A 42-year-old man who was killed in a shooting inside an illegal after-hours club near Kensington Market on Friday was trying to disarm one of the shooters when he was shot, his friend says.
Two people were shot and killed inside the second-floor club on College Street at August Avenue at around 5:10 a.m. this morning.
One of the victims was pronounced dead on the scene and a second victim later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.
A third victim, meanwhile, was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and is currently listed in serious condition.
So far no information about the suspects has been released, though Det. Shawn Mahoney said that police are seeking two or three male suspects who were seen fleeing the scene of the shooting on foot.
Police have no released the names of the victims at this point, however friends of one of the victims identified him as 42-year-old Justin Bokma. One friend told CP24 that Bokma was working as a doorman at the after-hours club at the time of the shooting.
“I was getting texts around that time and apparently a fight had broken out or something was going on and he attempted to disarm one of the shooters and ended up getting shot,” Richard Lett, a friend of Bokma’s, told CP24.
“He wasn’t randomly shot. He was just trying to intervene and it cost him his life. It’s very disappointing.”
Lett told CP24 that Bokma was well-known in the professional skateboarder community. He described him as a person who was “always there for his mom” and “a super funny guy.”
“We always joked that 10 per cent of the people do 90 per cent of the showing up, and Justin was part of that 10 per cent. It doesn’t surprise me that if someone was in danger, Justin would try and do something. I wish he hadn’t, but that’s just the kind of guy he was," Lett said.
"He was always down at the park skating and there was always these young guys that were totally amazed that it was Justin Bokma, but he had no ego about it at all. It was amazing the flips he could do with that board at that age."
The second victim, believed to be the owner of the club, was identified by friends as LeFranc Matthews. Friends tell CTV Toronto that Matthews was a father of two young children and known for always having a smile on his face.
A third man is still in hospital and has not been identified.
Police say that they are also investigating whether a fourth man who checked himself into St. Michael’s Hospital shortly after the shooting is connected to the incident.
“I am told that this is an illegal after-hours club and it appears there was some sort of confrontation in the establishment and a number of shots were fired,” Det. Shawn Mahoney told reporters at the scene on Friday morning.
Police said that there were approximately 30 people inside the club at the time and urge anyone who may have been at the club to contact investigators.
“We are at this point still trying to establish how many firearms were involved and who may have discharged those firearms,” Mahoney said. “We will be here for quite a bit of time gathering as much evidence as possible.”
Mahoney said that police have spoken to a number of witnesses who were inside the club when shots rang out but are hoping to speak to others who either witnessed the shooting itself or were in the club earlier in the night.
The detective also said that police are working to obtain surveillance camera footage from nearby businesses.
