Mourners gathered in Etobicoke on Tuesday evening to remember a 22-year-old man who was gunned down near his Etobicoke home earlier this month.

Shaquille Wallace was found lying wounded in a laneway near Scarlett Road and Lawrence Avenue on Jan. 9 after a gunman fired several shots at him. He died at the scene.

Investigators have not released any information about possible suspects. Previously, they said that at least six shots were fired at Wallace in the laneway.

The young man’s family begged the public for any information about the potential assailant, saying they’re all ‘puzzled’ by Wallace’s violent death.

His mother said Wallace had just finished work and was not far from home when he was killed. She described him as a “quiet” and “well-respected” man who loved playing basketball.

“It’s a nightmare. I can’t sleep at night. I’ve been so tired, so weak to know that my son is… he’s the only one I have,” Pearl Clarke told reporters before the vigil on Tuesday. “He’s a caring person, very caring, very quiet. He’s not that person that hung around, he never hung around.”

Clarke said investigators have not provided her with any new information about any possible suspect in her son’s murder.

“I want them to catch the person that did it,” she said. “Having guns in this city is very bad. I think they should have stiffer penalties.”

Pastor Keaton Austin, who helped organize the vigil, said the community has felt increasingly unsafe and wants to see the city implement more police presence in the area.

“People are scared to come out of their house (because they’re) scared of people coming up and shooting at them. It’s very sad,” he said. “The mayor needs to come and clean up this area. We’re crying out for more police and more security guards around this area.”

According to Austin, a Toronto Community Housing tenant rep wants to see the area become a “gated community” that’s secured “24 hours a day.”

“We need to clean the area up, put in proper fencing, put up proper lighting and put up proper cameras,” he said. “I walk around here and see a lot of stuff I don’t like.”

Clarke echoed Austin’s comments, saying she just wants “to get out” of her neighbourhood.

“We need more police presence here,” she said. “I would say to them turn yourself in because it’s not fair for me, for my son who got killed and you’re out there enjoying yourself… Please, turn yourself in.”