Markham man charged in playground shooting that injured two young girls

A 21-year-old man from Markham, Ont., was charged with attempted murder a day after two young sisters were injured in a shooting at a Toronto playground, police said Saturday. (Pixabay photo)

TORONTO — A 21-year-old man from Markham, Ont., was charged with attempted murder a day after two young sisters were injured in a shooting at a Toronto playground, police said Saturday.

Sheldon Eriya was arrested in nearby Pickering, Ont., on Friday and charged in the brazen daylight shooting that sent the girls, aged five and nine, to hospital Thursday, Toronto police said Saturday.

Eriya is facing two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, discharging a firearm, possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of a crime, police said Saturday.

Police said the public has been “extremely helpful” but declined to comment further on the investigation other than to say they’re still looking for two suspects.

Investigators have said that a man approached an east-end Toronto park where 11 children were playing and allegedly opened fire at another man nearby.

The young sisters were struck, and were rushed to hospital with serious gunshot injuries, police said.

The girls’ family released a statement on Saturday evening thanking the community, police and the mayor for their support.

“The response has been overwhelming and we can’t express our gratitude enough,” the family said in the statement released through the Hospital for Sick Children.

“At this time the focus is on the recovery and rehabilitation of the girls,” it said. “We ask that you keep them in your prayers for a speedy recovery.”

Mayor John Tory said he spoke to the girls’ mother earlier Saturday and she said they were doing “very well” since undergoing surgery.

To the two at-large suspects, Tory warned they would be better off turning themselves in to face their day in court than waiting for police to track them down.

“We show no mercy to people who have engaged in this kind of behaviour,” he said.

The mayor also said the city would be cracking down on illegal gun possession and violence, particularly as it relates to gangs and drug trafficking — though he did not say whether there was any indication gang activity was involved in this incident.

“I sure think it’s time for us to be very aggressive in rounding these people up who carry these guns … and just saying, ‘You are not going to terrorize this city.”’

Ontario premier-designate Doug Ford expressed similar sentiments Friday as he pledged further resources to Toronto and Ottawa police for tackling gang violence, but Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash questioned the portrayal of a city in crisis.

While acknowledging a recent increase in gang activity in some areas, he said police figures suggest gun crime is only slightly elevated from levels seen in the past few years.

To residents of the east-end community still reeling from what many described as an unprecedented burst of violence, Tory assured that such incidents are uncommon in most parts of the city, encouraging to people to “look out for each other.”

Anna Xavier, who has lived in the neighbourhood since 1990, said she felt a bit more at ease knowing that an arrest had been made.

Over the decades, Xavier said she has watched many of the neighbourhood kids grow up to have small children of their own, so she was unsurprised to learn that the suspect came from outside the close-knit community.

“We always walk around our neighbourhood freely, even at nighttime or any time, and we’re not scared. Something happens, and you think twice,” she said.

“It’s not that it’s a bad place. It’s very peaceful. The people, neighbours, everybody is good. But things happen sometimes.”

Evidence of Thursday’s violence was still visible around the playground the following day. Ten bullet holes, numbered by police and circled in black marker, dotted the wooden fence that separates the small play space from a condominium parking lot.

The pavement just steps from the playground was stained with what appeared to be dried blood.