Homicide detectives have identified a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed in the parking lot of an elementary school in Etobicoke on Sunday night.
Zakariye Ali and two other men, aged 18 and 19, were in the parking lot of Kingsview Village Junior School in the Dixon Road and Islington Avenue area on Oct. 8 at about 11:40 p.m. when numerous residents in the area called police to report sounds of gunshots.
Emergency crews arrived and found all three males suffering from gunshot wounds.
Ali was taken to hospital in critical condition where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The other two victims were also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A post-mortem examination is scheduled for Tuesday.
Ali, a student at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute, was remembered by his cousin on Tuesday as being well liked.
“He was fun, he was caring,” Asha Jama told CTV News Toronto. “Everyone loved him.”
Friends of Ali, who said they didn’t want to be identified out of fear of the recent violence in the area, said they feel unnerved lately.
“He’s my age, you know? Imagine if that happened to me… how my family would feel,” a friend said.
“They said, ‘Oh mom, we don’t want to go to school anymore,’” said a mother of one of the students. “They are really scared.”
Ward two Coun. Michael Ford said he intends on asking police to “step up” enforcement in the area in the wake of the killing.
“I know in the northwest quadrant, although a great community, a very vibrant community, has a lot of challenges with crime,” Ford said.
Police earlier described the suspect as a black male in his 20s with a slim build. He was last seen wearing all-black clothing and is about five-foot-seven inches tall.
Investigators say they have obtained security camera footage from the school and several other buildings in the area.
