Rob Ford near scene of first of two shootings in Toronto
Rob Ford at Toronto City Hall, Wednesday, March 11, 2015. (Craig Robertson/QMI Agency)
TORONTO – Former mayor Rob Ford was near the scene when the first of two young men were shot hours apart in what police say are gang-related shootings at an west-end highrise earlier this week.
One of the men has since died from his wounds.
"He wouldn't say anything," Ford said after the Tuesday night shooting . "He was shot once in the shoulder and twice in the lower body. It was bad."
But the man was coherent, added Ford, who said was in the area doing constituency calls.
Police have taken the unusual step of revealing that victim's identity as Ahmed Siyad, who a source has confirmed to QMI Agency, is the brother of Liban Siyad -- the alleged gang member who Ford's pal Sandro Lisi is accused of extorting in relation to the Rob Ford crack video.
Police have been tight-lipped in the wake of the violence in the building, but homicide cops now confirm the two shootings are connected and most likely gang-related.
"Officers had just cleared the area after collecting forensic evidence and interviewing witnesses from the first shooting and it was literally minutes later that the second shooting occurred," Det.-Sgt. Gary Giroux said Thursday.
"Actually, some of the same officers who were at the building for the first call responded again to the second call."
Gunfire first erupted around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in the underground parking garage at the Toronto Community Housing highrise building, where officers located Siyad in front of the complex with gunshot wounds. He survived his injuries.
Rob Ford near scene of first of two shootings in Toronto
Rob Ford at Toronto City Hall, Wednesday, March 11, 2015. (Craig Robertson/QMI Agency)
TORONTO – Former mayor Rob Ford was near the scene when the first of two young men were shot hours apart in what police say are gang-related shootings at an west-end highrise earlier this week.
One of the men has since died from his wounds.
"He wouldn't say anything," Ford said after the Tuesday night shooting . "He was shot once in the shoulder and twice in the lower body. It was bad."
But the man was coherent, added Ford, who said was in the area doing constituency calls.
Police have taken the unusual step of revealing that victim's identity as Ahmed Siyad, who a source has confirmed to QMI Agency, is the brother of Liban Siyad -- the alleged gang member who Ford's pal Sandro Lisi is accused of extorting in relation to the Rob Ford crack video.
Police have been tight-lipped in the wake of the violence in the building, but homicide cops now confirm the two shootings are connected and most likely gang-related.
"Officers had just cleared the area after collecting forensic evidence and interviewing witnesses from the first shooting and it was literally minutes later that the second shooting occurred," Det.-Sgt. Gary Giroux said Thursday.
"Actually, some of the same officers who were at the building for the first call responded again to the second call."
Gunfire first erupted around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in the underground parking garage at the Toronto Community Housing highrise building, where officers located Siyad in front of the complex with gunshot wounds. He survived his injuries.
Rob Ford near scene of first of two shootings in Toronto