Toronto man wanted for attempted murder was convicted in mass Danzig shooting

A Toronto man wanted for attempted murder in a stabbing last week is the same man convicted in relation to a high-profile mass shooting in 2012, Global News has learned.

Toronto police said Wednesday they are looking for 31-year-old Shaquan Mesquito in connection with a downtown stabbing on July 11 at Yonge and Dundas streets. Officers found a 30-year-old man who had been stabbed and was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Mesquito is wanted for attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

He is the same man who was convicted in a brazen mass shooting at a block party barbecue outside a public housing complex on Danzig Street on July 16, 2012. He was known as Shaquan “Bam Bam” Mesquito and was 18 at the time of the shooting.

According to police at the time, several members of the Galloway Boys gang attended the community barbeque in Scarborough and “took ownership” of it. Violence erupted after a squabble between members of the Galloway Boys and their traditional rivals from the Malvern area of Toronto.

The chaotic shoutout killed two people — 23-year-old Joshua Yasay and 14-year-old Shyanne Charles — and left 23 people injured.

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The Danzig shooting has been known as one of the worst in Toronto’s history.

The incident was called an “unprecedented” episode of violence by Toronto police, and stunned the country and rocked the community to its core.

Back in 2012, Mesquito was initially charged with uttering threats when he was arrested shortly after the shooting in July. Then, in November 2012, the charges were later upgraded to include two counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder, 23 counts aggravated assault and one count of reckless discharge of a firearm.

However, in January 2015, Crown lawyers dropped several charges against Mesquito, who was 21 years old at that time.

The Crown withdrew two murder charges, one count of attempted murder, reckless discharge of a firearm and 23 counts of aggravated assault.

Mesquito pleaded guilty to four new, lesser charges including counselling two people “to commit the indictable offence of murder which offence was not committed,” as well as uttering threats and illegal firearm possession.

There was not enough evidence to link Mesquito directly to the murders. In an agreed statement of facts, Mesquito was angered after being kicked out of the party and attempted to recruit others to come back and take revenge. After the shooting, he bragged about it online but investigators found a security video that placed him far away from Danzig.

He was handed a nine-year prison term sentence in 2015, that included time served in pre-trial custody.

Police are asking anyone with information or who sees Mesquito to contact them immediately.

“He is considered dangerous and should not be approached,” police said on Wednesday.

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