Elevator shootout
The violence took place on April 18 near a party in a downtown condo on Front St. rented by a street gang; the condo was rented from Airbnb. Toronto police Staff Insp. Mike Earl told a press conference Thursday that the Young Buck Killers gang was having a party and that the Queen’s Drag Crips, they believe, attempted to crash the party.
As a result a shootout occurred. The video footage shows four young men getting out of an elevator and then fleeing as gunfire erupts, two of them rush back into the elevator and fire shots, with one of those men being hit. Two others flee down the hallway.
Police were not called to the shooting and only learned of it the following day when a woman in the building found shell casings and bullet holes in the hallway. The male who was hit suffered only a minor wound.
After the shooting members of the gang who’d thrown the party, the Young Buck Killers, gathered at another location. It is here that it is alleged they kidnapped two young persons who, while not members of the Crips, were friendly with the gang that crashed the original party.
“I wouldn’t call this an innocent stranger kidnapping,” Insp. Earl said. “This is basically gang war kidnapping with one group or gang kidnapping another group’s members to make money, to send a message.
“As police officers we don’t pick our victims,” he added. “We’re here to protect everybody, so we need to step up here and prevent retaliations by apprehending these individuals as soon as we can.”
Kidnap victims beaten
The two who were kidnapped, both 17, were subjected to various tortures, tied to chairs and beaten and even forced to played Russian roulette with a loaded weapon. They were also forced into undisclosed sexual acts. According to police, following days in captivity they were released after their families paid a ransom.
Police have already taken four males into custody in connection to the kidnapping and ransom. Akil White, 23; Quinton Gardiner, 19; Deshawn Walters, 18; and a 16-year-old who cannot be named have all been arrested. They face charges including kidnapping for ransom and assault with a weapon.
Insp. Earl said they still seek two males, Lincoln Anthony Richards, 23, and Thai-Shay ‘Pistol’ Gordon, 17, who they say are ringleaders and are armed and dangerous. Further, police say that members of Richards’ family are also being sought.
“My understanding of the allegations is that his family members — his mother, grandmother and sister — may have been present in the house…when the beatings were taking place,” Insp. Earl said.
Police did not release the amount of money paid by family members for the release of the two boys.
While Thai-Shay Gordon is a minor, his name and image were released after police were granted judicial authorization; that authorization lasts only until May 2..