Man arrested in violent, homophobic attack at Toronto Island
A man has been arrested in connection with a violent, homophobic assault on Toronto Island that left a man with significant injuries earlier this month, Toronto police say.
Twenty-four-year-old Elijah McGibbon, from Toronto, faces an aggravated assault charge after the June 5 attack near Hanlan’s Point.
According to police, the incident happened at the ferry docks on the Island at around 11:30 p.m.
A 24-year-old man, identified by CTV News Toronto as David Gomez, and a 27-year-old woman were walking to the ferry docks when they became involved in a disagreement with a group of people, police said.
Investigators said a man from the group made homophobic comments towards the victims and a woman grabbed one of the victims.
Then two men from the group assaulted Gomez by punching and kicking him, leaving him with significant injuries, according to police.
Toronto police’s hate crime unit is supporting the investigation.
In a social media post after the incident, Gomez said he was called homophobic names and was “knocked unconscious, and nearly beat to death.”
A week after the incident, Gomez told CTV News Toronto that he was still in a lot of pain and struggling to go outside.
“I’m scared to leave my home,” he told CTV News Toronto on Monday. “It’s been several days since. I only go to and from the hospital now.”
Shortly after the incident, several social media posts surfaced online linking an Ottawa Redblacks player to the attack.
The Canadian Football League confirmed that Redblacks defensive linemen Chris Larsen was suspended following “allegations of an assault by a group of individuals” and a pending Toronto police investigation.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for the Redblacks confirmed to CTV News Toronto that Larsen is still suspended.
Police said the investigation is still ongoing.
“I want to make it clear that while we have successfully charged someone for their alleged involvement in this assault, our investigation does not stop here,” Det. Const. Lauren Hassard said in a statement.
“This is a complex case and we still encourage witnesses to come forward. In particular, we want to speak to two women who we believe were in the area at the time and are described as white, in their 20s and with brown hair,” she added.
June is Pride Month in Toronto but Pride Toronto’s Executive Director said the incident is a stark reminder that more needs to be done to raise awareness about the discrimination and homophobia 2SLGBTQ+ communities continue to face.
“It is very disheartening that in 2021 we’re still facing this sort of attack. Yesterday and the day before our social media, our phone calls were ringing off the hook, just individuals not feeling safe,” Sherwin Modeste told CTV News Toronto on June 9.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Beth Macdonell and Katherine DeClerq
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.