MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Two men have been arrested in connection with a deadly gang-related shooting in Mississauga, police announced Tuesday as they released video of the "brazen" incident in an effort to identify the others involved.
Safeer Ahmad of Mississauga and Jahvon Valdez of Brampton, Ont., have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the killing of 17-year-old Jonathan Davis last September, Peel Regional Police said.
Valdez was also charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm in relation to the shooting, which happened outside an apartment building on the city's north side and left five others injured.
Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said the attack "can only be characterized as absolutely horrifying," noting the perpetrators showed no regard for nearby children and families who were outside at the time.
"They probably engaged in the largest single gang shooting in Ontario," Duraiappah told reporters Tuesday. "It is absolutely brazen."
The shooting occurred the evening of Sept. 14 and saw at least 140 rounds of ammunition fired, police said.
The department also released a video of the shooting on Tuesday, asking the public for help in apprehending the other suspects involved.
In the video, a group of roughly a dozen people can be seen hanging out in front of the building when two cars pull into the parking lot.
A handful of men brandishing guns then exit the vehicles and begin firing dozens of rounds at the group as people attempt to flee or hide behind cars.
Police do not believe Davis was the target of the shooting, but was rather a bystander caught in the middle.
Authorities believe the shooting is connected to one that killed 28-year-old Giovanni Delahaye a month later, although they said they do not think Valdez and Ahmad were involved in that shooting.
Delahaye was killed at approximately 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 22 when the vehicle he was travelling in stopped at a red light on Derry Road East near Highway 410.
Moments later, a Nissan Sentry — one of the two vehicles used in the Davis shooting — pulled alongside Delahaye's vehicle and someone inside opened fire, killing him and injuring three others in the vehicle.
Police say the Sentry was later found in Caledon, Ont., "fully engulfed in flames."
A Hyundai Santa Fe — the second vehicle used in the Davis killing — had been found in a similar state a month earlier.
Police believe the shooters are part of a gang, but would not disclose if it has a name or what city it is based in.
— by Jake Kivanç in Toronto
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 21, 2020.
The Canadian Press
