Saturday, August 06, 2005

Another fatal shooting down the road


It seems this is developing into a disturbing new feature on my blog, reports on shootings in the area. Last weekend it was a fatal shooting at our local CIBC, this week it was another shooting on the street where most of our youth group kids live. This one was the closest yet, in many ways.

On Friday night we were driving back from the "Taste of the Danforth" festival when we heard on the radio about a fatal shooting on Morecambe gate, near Victoria Park & Finch. If you remember in March I had written about a shooting at a dry cleaners on Morecambe, next to where one of our main youth group kids Clayon lives. He lives at one end of Morecambe gate. Friday night the man was shot and killed at the other end of Morecambe gate.

We drove by, saw the police tape, the CTV truck, the crime scene, but none of our guys were out on the street so we headed home, put the kids to bed, then went on MSN to see if everyone was OK. At this point all we knew was that someone was shot and we were worried. Clayon wasn't online, neither was Kevin, Jamoy, Kellz, Cookie or the others who live on the street. Jermal, who lives on another street, was online but didn't know about the incident, then finally Novella came online - she lives next door to Clayon on Morecambe gate.

Here's how the conversation went:

Date: 8/5/2005 Time: 23:30:02
Shawn: hey hey!!!
Shawn: u there?
Novella: hey
Shawn: what happened
Shawn: we just drove by your street
Novella: some guy got shot
Shawn: who, anyone we know?
Novella: no
Shawn: was he from chester?
Novella: ye
Novella: he used to live here but he moved
Shawn: ahhh...i was worried cause i saw the police tape around Jamoy's house
Shawn: so is he related to anyone that we know? like kellz? or jamoy?
Novella: he was in my backyard today playing playing dominoes with my mother and some others...

(As the Toronto Sun article puts it:
Whittick knocked off work early that day, stopped by the barber shop to have his beard trimmed, and then crossed the street to a friend's, where he enjoyed a barbecue and played dominoes. He was heading home when he was gunned down....
Whittick was shot in the stomach during an altercation at a Scarborough bus stop on Victoria Park Ave., just north of Finch Ave. E., after leaving a friend's townhouse at 51 Morecambe Gt. around 7 p.m. He stumbled back to the Metro Housing complex and bled to death on the grass.

Novella: then he walked down the streeth and some people tried robbing him for his necklace so he fought back and thats when they shot him
Shawn: are kevin and clayon ok?
Novella: yes everyones fine
Shawn: k good, we're praying for you guys
Shawn: do you know who shot him?
Novella: nah
Shawn: craZEE!!
Novella: i know
Shawn: where did this guy live?
Novella: i dont know where he lives now but he used to live in chester
Novella: yo it was scary
Novella: a bunch of cops, everything, ctv
Novella: he got shot where the parkinglot after my house is
Novella: i was at my friends house when i heard
Novella: my friends mom was terrified
Novella: there were more than 20 police cars
Novella: i'm leaving now but i'll tell you all about it
Novella: on sunday ok

Shawn: k see you then! we'll keep praying
Novella: so good night
Shawn: say hi to kevin/clayon for me
Novella: ok
Shawn: night
Novella: night
Date: 8/6/2005 Time: 00:22:59

Here is an article with some brief details, as well as the Toronto Sun article - here

It's sad because the local paper just did a big front page article ->here<- on how the area was getting better, and then this

Please pray for this area and the teens we minister to. Clayon brought his mom and brother to church on Sunday for the first time. Pray that this incident wouldn't just be forgotten, but it would motivate some of our guys to get their lives right with God.

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