Friends and family gathered in Pickering, Ont. Saturday to remember 23-year-old Joshua Yasay.
Yasay was one of two victims of a deadly public shooting during a Toronto block party on Monday. Twenty-three others were injured in the fray.
At the service, saddened friends told CTV Toronto that Yasay was an innocent victim.
“It’s just so random. He’s not one of those people to be involved in anything bad. He does community work -- he finished criminology. He stands up for justice and justice has to be had right now,” said childhood friend Matthew Zajch.
The Ajax resident had completed a degree in criminology from York University and had dreams of becoming a police officer.
Yasay was also a basketball fan who turned his passion for the sport into community service.
Yasay was an active volunteer, who spent two years coaching basketball for youth with learning disabilities.
On the day of the shooting, Yasay was working at a barber shop he’d help to open nine months ago.
He went to the deadly party after work but soon texted a friend saying he wasn’t enjoying himself. A little while later, he was killed.
Yasay’s friends spoke out against the senseless violence that claimed his life.
“I don’t understand who would do such a thing. If it’s older people then they need to grow up because that’s not the way to resolve anything. And if it’s younger people then there needs to be stricter rules,” said Zajch.
“Things have to be changed definitely,” added friend Kavi Senthilvel. “It’s a shame that we have to experience this to make us realize what this city is capable of.”
The visitation for Yasay continues on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral mass for Yasay will be held on Monday.
A funeral for Shyanne Charles, the other victim of the block party shooting, will be held next weekend.
With files from CTV Toronto’s Scott Lightfoot
