http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/03/19/rob ... -on-ground
TORONTO – Former mayor Rob Ford was near the scene when the first of two young men were shot hours apart in what police say are gang-related shootings at an west-end highrise earlier this week that left one man dead.
Police took the unusual step of revealing the identity of the surviving victim, the man who Ford saw bleeding on the ground.
He is Ahmed Siyad, who a source has confirmed to QMI Agency is the brother of Liban Siyad -- the alleged gang member who Ford's pal Sandro Lisi is accused of extorting in relation to the Rob Ford crack video.
"He wouldn't say anything," Ford said of the victim after the Tuesday night shooting . "He was shot once in the shoulder and twice in the lower body. It was bad."
But the man was coherent, added Ford, who said was in the area doing constituency calls.
Ford did not indicate he knew the identity of the shooting victim.
Police have been tight-lipped in the wake of the violence in the building, but homicide cops now confirm the two shootings are connected and likely gang-related.
"Officers had just cleared the area after collecting forensic evidence and interviewing witnesses from the first shooting and it was literally minutes later that the second shooting occurred," Det.-Sgt. Gary Giroux said Thursday.
"Actually, some of the same officers who were at the building for the first call responded again to the second call."
Gunfire first erupted around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in the underground parking garage at the Toronto Community Housing highrise building, where officers located Siyad in front of the complex with gunshot wounds. He survived his injuries.
"I am in TCHC buildings a lot assisting people,” Ford said Tuesday. “With my assistant Dave we were helping when it happened.
“A woman was yelling and going crazy. It turns out someone was shot. Dave didn't hear the gunshots where he was and I didn't where I was. I don't know where it happened for sure but I think it was the underground because no one heard the gunshots."
Ford could not be reached Thursday night for further comment.
Around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, just "moments" after the crime scene tape was taken down at the location of the first shooting , shots rang out a second time at the complex, Giroux said.
Police located Malcolm Marfo, 22, of Toronto, at the rear of the highrise with life-threatening gunshot wounds.
After clinging to life for two days, Marfo died from his injuries Thursday while surrounded by family in hospital, Giroux said.
Marfo is the city's eighth murder victim of the year.
"His family has been co-operative," Giroux said. "But as you can imagine, this was the worst-case scenario for them."
In an effort to catch whoever is responsible for the shootings, Giroux said the decision was made to release images of both victims.
"We're hoping the public can help us to connect the dots," he said, explaining the released photos provide potential witnesses with more information to jog their memories.
Giroux said the murder appears to be "retaliation" for the first shooting, but investigators can't say for certain yet.
While there is nothing so far to suggest the murder victim was a gang member, Giroux believes the shootings are gang-related.
"There is certainly going to be an overarching gang element to this," he said.
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