Case file
Danzig Street shooting
Documents violence · crimes against children — written to inform, not to shock.
On the evening of 16 July 2012, a shooting occurred at a block party on Danzig Street in the West Hill neighbourhood of Toronto. What began as a children's barbecue organized by resident Shannon Longshaw was extended into the evening by members of the Galloway Boys gang, who promoted a "Hennessy Block Party" via social media, drawing a crowd of roughly two hundred people with a DJ and free alcohol. Confrontations, including the ordering-out of an alleged rival Malvern Crew member, escalated tensions and led to threats of violence.
At approximately 10:40 p.m., Folorunso Owusu, 17, a member of a gang called the Le Side Crew, was confronted by Nahom Tsegazab, 19, a Galloway Boys member, and opened fire with a 9 mm handgun, shooting Tsegazab. Tsegazab returned fire, and an unidentified third gunman fired into the crowd with a submachine gun. Twenty-four bystanders were shot and three were trampled amid the panic. Shyanne Charles, 14, was fleeing the initial gunfire when she was struck and killed by the third shooter. Joshua Yasay, 23, a community mentor with a criminology degree, was fatally shot; it was not determined whether Tsegazab or the third shooter killed him.
Police initially believed the shooting was linked to a historic territorial war between the Galloway Boys and the Malvern Crew, but investigators later determined it stemmed from a dispute among teenagers rather than organized retaliation. Investigators faced difficulty securing witness cooperation but made arrests over the following months, aided by a related reprisal shooting on 2 September 2012 in which Nahom Tsegazab's brother, Naod, shot Owusu.
Four men were ultimately convicted. Nahom Tsegazab pleaded guilty in April 2014 to two counts of manslaughter and six counts of aggravated assault and was sentenced to fourteen years. Shaquan Mesquito, initially charged with murder after claiming responsibility for the shooting online, was found through phone records to have been miles away at the time; the murder charges were dropped, and he pleaded guilty in January 2015 to counselling to commit murder and weapons offences, receiving nine years. Naod Tsegazab pleaded guilty in 2015 to the attempted murder of Owusu in the September reprisal shooting and was sentenced as an adult to seven years. Folorunso Owusu was convicted at trial and sentenced as an adult to life in prison in December 2016, with an additional concurrent four-year sentence in 2017 for criminal negligence; none of his shots were found to have killed anyone, but his initiation of gunfire was found to have caused the ensuing deaths and injuries.
The shooting prompted the Toronto Police Service's Summer Safety Initiative and later the Neighbourhood Officers Program, aimed at community-based crime prevention. It also renewed national debate on gun crime, immigration policy, and youth violence, and inspired community and memorial responses including scholarships, a drop-in centre, and creative works referencing the event.
Key facts
- Victims
- Shyanne Charles, Joshua Yasay
- Date
- 2012
- Location
- Danzig Street, West Hill, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
2012-07-15
A children's block party barbecue is organized at the Danzig Street housing complex by resident Shannon Longshaw.
2012-07-16
The delayed block party continues into the evening; shooting occurs around 10:40 p.m., killing Shyanne Charles and Joshua Yasay and injuring 24 others.
2012-07-19
Nahom Tsegazab is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm while being treated in hospital.
2012-07-20
About a thousand people attend a memorial march for Charles and Yasay.
2012-07-27
Shaquan Mesquito is arrested for uttering threats and weapons offences.
2012-09-02
A reprisal shooting occurs at Chester Le Boulevard; Naod Tsegazab shoots Folorunso Owusu.
2012-11-07
Mesquito is charged with attempted murder, two counts of first-degree murder, and aggravated assault.
2012-11
Nahom Tsegazab is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and aggravated assault; Owusu is arraigned with similar charges.
2012-12-04
Naod Tsegazab is charged with threatening death and weapons offences.
2014-04-11
Nahom Tsegazab pleads guilty to two counts of manslaughter and six counts of aggravated assault; sentenced to fourteen years.
2015-01-23
Murder charges against Mesquito are dropped after evidence places him elsewhere; he pleads guilty to lesser charges and is sentenced to nine years.
2015
Naod Tsegazab pleads guilty to attempted murder of Owusu and is sentenced as an adult to seven years.
2016-12-07
Folorunso Owusu is found guilty and sentenced as an adult to life in prison.
2017-05
Owusu is found guilty of criminal negligence charges and sentenced to four years, concurrent with the life sentence.
2018-01
Naod Tsegazab is released from prison.
2019-07
Owusu is transferred from a youth centre to an adult prison.
2020-03
Nahom Tsegazab is granted day parole.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
Naod Tsegazab
CONVICTEDPleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Folorunso Owusu in a related September 2012 reprisal shooting; sentenced as an adult to seven years
citation on file
Shyanne Charles
VICTIM14-year-old killed while fleeing gunfire at the block party
citation on file
Nahom Tsegazab
CONVICTEDPleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and six counts of aggravated assault; sentenced to fourteen years
citation on file
Folorunso Owusu
CONVICTEDFound guilty at trial of second-degree murder-related charges and criminal negligence; sentenced as an adult to life in prison
citation on file
Joshua Yasay
VICTIM23-year-old community mentor fatally shot at the block party
citation on file
Shaquan Mesquito
CONVICTEDPleaded guilty to counselling to commit murder, weapons possession, breach of a prohibition order, and uttering a threat; murder charges were dropped after evidence showed he was elsewhere during the shooting
citation on file
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- On 16 July 2012, gunfire broke out among rival gang members at a crowded block party on Danzig Street in Toronto's West Hill neighbourhood, killing 14-year-old Shyanne Charles and 23-year-old Joshua Yasay and injuring 24 others in what became the city's worst mass shooting.
- Where did the shooting happen?
- Danzig Street, West Hill, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Who was convicted?
- Naod Tsegazab (Pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Folorunso Owusu in a related September 2012 reprisal shooting; sentenced as an adult to seven years), Nahom Tsegazab (Pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and six counts of aggravated assault; sentenced to fourteen years), Folorunso Owusu (Found guilty at trial of second-degree murder-related charges and criminal negligence; sentenced as an adult to life in prison), and Shaquan Mesquito (Pleaded guilty to counselling to commit murder, weapons possession, breach of a prohibition order, and uttering a threat; murder charges were dropped after evidence showed he was elsewhere during the shooting).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved.
Sources
- Danzig Street shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Man pleads guilty to two counts of manslaughter in Danzig shootingnews · The Globe and Mail · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage related to Toronto mass shootingsnews · National Post · 2026-07-07
