A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. MARCUS GARVEY

Man shot dead in east-end plaza 

By Terry Davidson

Toronto Police forensics investigators, Consts. Sandy Komarniski and Bob Arnott, collect evidence at Claredon Wild Flowers Restaurant and Bar at Danforth Ave. and Birmount Rd., where a fatal shooting took place early Saturday morning. (TERRY DAVIDSON/Toronto Sun)

TORONTO - A man is dead following a shooting in a rough Scarborough plaza.Police were called to the Clarendon Wild Flowers Jamaican restaurant in the Birchmount and Danforth Rds. area around 4 a.m. Saturday after shots were fired inside.
Officers from Toronto Police’s forensics unit were by early afternoon dusting the small eatery’s front door for finger prints.
A man, reportedly in his late 40s, suffered a single gunshot wound and was rushed to St. Michael’s Hospital but was pronounced dead.
Police had not yet released the victim’s name, or say if an arrest had been made.
The shooting is indicative of an area that is becoming increasingly worse when it comes to crime and mayhem, says George Papas, a manager of a bar in the plaza.
“I’ve been here a long time, and it’s really changed,” said Papas, from the Birmount Tavern. “You have to be cautious when you come around here...It makes me nervous. My kids come here sometimes — to eat, to hang out.”
Sometimes, the “Jamaican place” would be open all hours, with pounding music emanating from inside throughout the night and into early morning, said John Zagarella, a barista at an espresso bar across the way.
At the Tivoli salon next door, Mike said he is nervous the escalating villainy in the area will hurt business.
“It’ll make a bad reputation,” said Mike, declining to give his last name. “We’ve never seen that place open in the daytime. They used to have billiards inside...and there was drinking before.”
Mike said he hadn’t seen activity in the restaurant the last two months.
The shooting marks Toronto’s 34th homicide of 2011.

Slain man shielded children from gunfire: family

Jermaine Smith is pictured in this undated photo provided by Toronto police. Smith, 28, was fatally shot at a community barbecue Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011.

A 28-year-old man who was gunned down at a community barbecue on the weekend died as a hero, shielding several children as he was shot by a gunman, his family said at a news conference Thursday.
Toronto police read out a statement written by Jermaine Smith's family saying that the man's last act was a selfless one, as he pushed young kids out of the way to protect them before and during a hail of gunfire.
"It is our understanding that as Jermaine's life was being brutally ripped from him he was seen in the midst of the chaos shielding children," the statement said. "To us, the members of his family, this is proof of his character as a man and a father."
Smith was the father of a two-and-a-half-month-old son.
The family said the most heartbreaking part about Smith's death is that he will never get to watch his infant son grow up and that his son will never get to know him.
"That's the sad part," said Enroy Tomlinson, Smith's older brother. "He loved kids. Everywhere he went he would play with all the kids. He was a very good dad."
Police appeal for witnesses
Tomlinson spoke to reporters at the news conference after police released the family's statement and renewed their appeal for witnesses to the unsolved slaying.
Police said Smith was fatally shot as he stood next to his car in the parking lot of a townhouse complex at 4020 Dundas St. W., where people were gathered for a back-to-school barbecue Saturday night.
Shortly before 10 p.m., a male approached Smith, pulled out a handgun and fired several shots that struck him in the neck and head, said homicide Det. Sgt. Wayne Banks.
Smith died at the scene.
The shooting occurred steps away from a playground that was filled with children and just metres from the barbecue, which was attended by up to 150 people, Banks said.
Many children under 14 witnessed the killing and gave statements to police about what they saw, Banks said.
Motive not known
Police still don't know the motive for the shooting. Banks said Smith wasn't involved in a confrontation at the barbecue prior to the shooting, and there is no evidence he was involved in any gang activity.
The gunman fled and hasn't been arrested. Police are still speaking to witnesses to come up with a detailed description of a male suspect.
"The streets of Toronto will not be safe until (the suspect or suspects) are in police custody," Smith's family said in the statement. "Please help us bring justice for this horrible and cowardly crime."
Police are seeking tips from the public to try to identify the shooter. They're also asking any barbecue attendees who haven't spoken to investigators to call them.
Banks said potential witnesses fled before police arrived at the scene.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Toronto police homicide squad
"All they have to do is come forward," Tomlinson said. "A lot of people are afraid … but they should try their best to come forward and give whatever information they have to help out."
Family calls for end to gun violence
In addition to the appeal for information, Smith's family called for an end to the gun violence that has claimed the lives of many young men and women in Toronto over the past several years.
"It is a pain that no one should experience. The violence must end now," the family said.

Funeral for teen slain in Downsview apartment 

By Chris Doucette ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Saturday, August 20, 2011 7:13:53 EDT PM

Murder victim Khalfani Jordan Haughton, 18, was laid to rest Saturday, 10 days after he was stabbed to death at an apartment near Keele St. and Wilson Ave. About 200 mourners paid their respects at the Peace Community Church near Weston Rd. and St. Clair Ave. W. (CHRIS DOUCETTE/

TORONTO - Khalfani Haughton was a talented young man with a promising future, those who knew and loved him say.
The 18-year-old, better known as Jordan to his friends and family, hoped to pursue a music career but that dream ended senselessly when he was stabbed to death at a Downsview apartment building a little over a week ago.
“I have to pray that God will help me to forgive the person that took my son’s life...forgiveness is key,” Fitzgerald “Mike” Haughton said Saturday at Jordan’s funeral.
The grief-stricken father was among about 200 mourners who gathered at the Peace Community Church, near Weston Rd. and St. Clair Ave. W., to say their final goodbyes to the teen.
“Jordan had a calm spirit, a gentle spirit...,” Haughton said, adding his son also had a big heart and “zeal to succeed.”
The teen, who worked at a grocery store, was stabbed to death Aug. 10 at 1130 Wilson Ave., near Keele St.
Toronto Police have said Jordan was involved in an altercation with a man in an apartment.
The Rexdale youth stumbled out of the apartment with multiple stab wounds and collapsed in the hall.
Few other details have been released.
However, it’s believed the apartment was the home of a woman who occasionally babysat one of Jordan’s younger siblings. The man he allegedly argued with is the woman’s husband.
Exactly what sparked the deadly argument remains a mystery.
But Derrick Oram, 37, faces a charge of second-degree murder and remains in custody.
Saturday’s two-hour funeral service was filled with tributes from those closest to Jordan, including best friend Matthew Russell.
“Jordan was more than a friend to me,” the teen said. “We were the best of friends.”
He and Jordan were in a hip-hop group together called CheckMate.
Russell said his pal was the kind of friend others wish they had.
“Jordan changed my life by introducing me to music and to writing,” he said, before playing a song he wrote for his slain friend.
Joseph Johnson said he couldn’t have asked for any more from a big brother.
He was “always there” for me and my other siblings, he said, adding he admired his brother and wanted to be just like him.
“Jordan, I love you, I miss you, but I shall never forget you,” Johnson said.