Gang murder to ‘send a message’ leads to charges for 2 teens from Brampton: police

Police say the brazen murder of an innocent young man in Toronto could have been “a message” to the community and a rival gang, leading to the arrest of four people including two teens from Brampton.

The Toronto Police Service says Joshua Bernard-Reis was returning to his home on Danzig Street in Scarborough around 11:15 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2023 from helping a family member move when he was ambushed by four suspects.

The quartet of shooters were across the street waiting in a parked vehicle armed with handguns, and ran over to Bernard-Reis before opening fire on the 21-year-old man and another victim in a vehicle.

While the other victim was unharmed in the shooting attack, Bernard-Reis suffered gunshot wounds and was rushed to hospital where he remained for some two weeks.

Bernard-Reis was pronounced dead in October of 2023. And while police say both victims have no links to organized crime, four suspects with gang ties have been arrested in relation to the shooting.

Investigators say Danzig Street has had issues in the past and “there’s a high likelihood that this was a situation where it was a message to the street.”

“We see these kinds of incidents over the years, where a gang might try and send a message to an opposite gang by shooting an individual in their neighbourhood,” Det. Sgt. Brandon Price from the Toronto Police Service told reporters on Thursday of the September, 2023 shooting.

Price called it “disgusting” that the shooters would target innocent victims “because of the neighbourhood that they might live in.”

“But we do see that kind of thing happening sometimes, and it seems this is a possible explanation for (the murder),” he said.

He said Bernard-Reis and the other victims were not involved “in any kind of criminality or gang involvement.”

Jermaine Goode, 19, of Markham was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to the shooting in November of 2023, and a 16-year-old from Brampton was also charged in the killing earlier this year.

Police now say a 21-year-old man from Toronto and an 18-year-old from Brampton were arrested in connection to the shooting on Monday and have been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

Investigators say they believe all the shooters have been arrested.

Tyler Brown, 21, of Toronto, and an unidentified teen from Brampton, 18, have both been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in connection to the shooting.

Police say the 18-year-old from Brampton was a youth at the time of the murder and cannot be named due to provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Anyone with information about this incident can contact TPS by calling 416-808-2222. Anonymous tips may also be provided to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477 or visiting www.ontariocrimestoppers.ca.

When you contact Crime Stoppers you stay anonymous, never have to testify, and could receive a $2,000 reward.