GUILTY Canada - One dead, two injured after shooting on Queen Street West, Toronto, 2018

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One dead, two injured after shooting on Queen Street West
"One person is dead and two others remain in hospital after gunfire erupted in broad daylight on one of the busiest streets in the city Saturday evening.

Multiple shots were heard outside Cube Nightclub in the area of Queen Street West and Peter Street, in the city’s Entertainment District, shortly before 8 p.m."

"Police said the suspects may have fled in a black SUV or a white car.

“Our investigators are on-scene right now trying to piece this together,” Const. David Hopkinson told CP24. “It is a large scene. We’re talking about the downtown core and Queen Street – one of the busiest streets on a very busy Canada Day weekend.”

The daylight shooting happened on the first day of the long weekend, as Queen Street West was jammed with pedestrians out enjoying the hot weather.

Shocked passersby described a “chaotic” scene in the aftermath of the attack."

 

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Two dead following daylight shooting in Entertainment District: police
"A second male victim injured in a brazen daylight shooting in the city’s Entertainment District on Saturday has died in hospital.

Gunshots rang out shortly before 8 p.m. outside Cube Nightclub, near Queen Street West and Peter Street.

Graphic photos posted on social media following the shooting showed a man lying on a sidewalk in a pool of blood."
“There were a number of cars that left the area shortly after the shooting and I’m asking all of the drivers of those cars and the people that were in them to come forward.”

On Sunday morning, police tape and forensic investigators were spotted collecting evidence at the busy downtown intersection."

A section of Queen Street West remains closed east of Spadina Avenue for the police investigation.

 

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Smoke Dawg reportedly killed in shooting on Queen West
"Smoke Dawg reportedly killed in shooting on Queen West
Drake, Mustafa The Poet and Puffy L'z have paid tribute to the Toronto rapper on social media
by Kevin Ritchie
July 1, 2018"
"Along with Puffy L'z and Safe, Smoke Dawg was part of a rising group of rappers from the downtown neighbourhood Regent Park called Halal Gang. He scored a viral hit three years ago with the song Still and later collaborated with French Montana and Skepta. Smoke Dawg started generating international buzz when he brought out Drake and Skepta during a concert in London, England in February 2017. He went on to open on Drake's Boy Meets World European tour. Just prior to that, NOW named him one of our hip-hop artists to watch.

Earlier this week, Smoke Dawg released the song Fountain Freestyle and was preparing to put out his debut full-length project, Struggle Before Glory, later in the year."

 

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Toronto Rapper Smoke Dawg Killed In Downtown Shooting
By Maija Kappler

Instagram / Smoke Dawg
Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg posted this Instagram picture of himself with "big bro" The Weeknd in Oberhausen, Germany on Feb. 26, 2017. Smoke Dawg is reportedly one of the deceased victims of gun violence after a downtown Toronto shooting over the Canada Day long weekend."

Who was Smoke Dawg?
His name may not be familiar to the world at large, but Smoke Dawg was well-known within Toronto's hip-hop scene. He grew up in Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood, in a family of 9. He told Noisey that he had many musician friends, and that he got into music himself from accompanying friends to their studio sessions.

Along with musicians Mo-G, Puffy L'z, and SAFE, Smoke Dawg was part of the Halal Gang, a rap collective from Regent Park. They hit a milestone in March 2015, when Drake posted a clip from their song "Still" on his Instagram account. The song featured the left-handed "ginobli dance," which Drake would later mimic in the "Energy" video. Complex pointed out that Drake also makes reference to Mo-G in songs like "Jumpman" and "Summer Sixteen."

 

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Dec 1 2018
Posthumous debut album from slain Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg released - CityNews Toronto

Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg's posthumous album "Struggle Before Glory" arrived on Nov. 30, 2018, five months after he was killed in a shooting in Toronto. HANDOUT
"The 21-year-old captured the attention of the local hip-hop community after joining Drake on his 2017 European tour.

His 13-track album features numerous guest appearances, including British artists Fredo and Giggs.

Toronto rappers Safe and Puffy L’z — both part of the Halal Gang artist collective where Smoke Dawg forged his early career — also feature on tracks.

Smart was one of two men killed on June 30 in Toronto’s entertainment district. The other was Ernest Modekwe, brand manager for hip-hop collective Prime Boys.

Toronto police have issued a warrant for the arrest of 22-year-old Abdulkadir Handule in the fatal shooting and a 16-year-old boy who can’t be named because he is a minor."

 

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thestar.com | The Star | Canada's largest daily
Aug 21 2019
"A man currently locked up in a British Columbia jail is facing two counts of first-degree murder in the brazen shooting deaths of two well-known members of Toronto’s hip-hop scene outside a Queen St. W. nightclub last summer.

The victims were Jahvante Smart, 21, who performed as rapper Smoke Dawg, and Ernest (Kosi) Modekwe, 28, a music brand manager known as Koba Prime."

"According to his death notice in the Star, Modekwe was the captain of his high school basketball team who graduated from the University of Toronto graduate with a degree in criminology and political science.

He created his own clothing line and had many interests “but music always filled his heart,” the notice said".

 

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In a press release issued on Friday, police said that Handule was arrested in Burnaby, British Columbia last month on unrelated charges and arrangements were then made to return him to Toronto.

He appeared in court at Old City Hall on Tuesday, where he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Police say that they are continuing to search for a second suspect in connection with the murders. That suspect cannot be identified under the terms of the Youth Criminal

“The Toronto Police Service encourages the young person to contact their lawyer and make arrangements to surrender themselves,” police said in the press release. “If you know the whereabouts of the uoung person, do not approach them. They are considered armed, violent and dangerous.”
Arrest made in 2018 murder of two members of Toronto's hip hop community

 

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Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg was the target of a planned Queen St. ambush, Crown says at high-profile murder trial
Dec 8 2021
Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg was the target of a planned Queen St. ambush, Crown says at high-profile murder trial
By Betsy PowellCourts Reporter
''Gunfire cut short the peace of a beautiful early summer evening on Queen Street West, sending shoppers, pedestrians and cyclists running for cover.

It was around 8 p.m. and still daylight on June 30, 2018, the Saturday of the Canada Day long weekend.''

''When the shots stopped, Jahvante Smart, the well-known Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg, lay dead on the street; up the road, hip-hop brand manager Ernest Modekwe lay dying from a fatal gunshot to the neck.

Also injured was a bystander, Michelle Weir. She suffered a gunshot wound to her leg.

On Wednesday, for the first time since the high-profile shootout on one of Toronto’s best-known retail strips, the prosecution laid out its case against one of the alleged shooters. Abdulkadir Handule has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated assault and discharge a firearm with intent to wound and is represented by defence lawyer Dirk Derstine.''

 

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‘Everyone was screaming and running’: Court video shows terrifying daylight shooting of Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg
''Michelle Weir was sitting on a Queen Street West bench, near Peter Street in downtown Toronto, when gunshots sprayed the still-daylit area, sending her, two girlfriends and dozens of other bystanders fleeing for their lives.

“Everyone was screaming and running,” Weir testified Monday in Superior Court where a jury is hearing evidence in the first-degree murder trial of Abdulkadir Handule.''

 

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Feb 22 2022
Rapper Smoke Dawg was killed in ‘adolescent, stupid’ fight, not murder, defence says | The Star
''A Toronto jury is expected to begin deliberations Wednesday after hearing weeks of evidence about the high-profile Canada Day-weekend shooting of two men on Queen Street West almost four years ago.

Abdulkadir Handule is charged with killing popular Toronto rapper Jahvante Smart, who performed as Smoke Dawg, and hip-hop brand manager Ernest Modekwe as they ran from gunfire that sent bystanders scrambling for safety on June 30, 2018. A woman shot in the leg survived.''

 

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Oct 26 2022

Why this murdered Toronto rapper’s gold chain is at the centre of another fatal shooting

Star rapper Smoke Dawg’s chain — gold, with the skyline and the slogan “All Money In” — initially belonged to Michael Lewis, 30. The Crown argues Lewis was killed because he’d stolen it back.

www.thestar.com

''At the heart of the case is a chunky gold chain with a pendant of the Toronto skyline, the slogan “All Money In” and the city’s primary area code, 416.

The prosecution alleges the chain initially belonged to Lewis but ended up with Regent Park rapper Smoke Dawg, Douglas’s brother. In 2017, Lewis publicly snatched his chain back from Smoke Dawg and, shortly after, a rival rapper flaunted the distinctive necklace on social media — leaving Smoke Dawg and Douglas furious.

On the evening of Canada Day of 2018, Smoke Dawg — Jahvante Smart — was shot dead with his manager on Queen Street West in a killing that shocked the city and sent ripples through its hip-hop community. Smoke Dawg’s killing, on a crowded street in daylight, brought a sudden end to the career of one of Toronto rap’s brightest young stars soon after the 21-year-old had returned from performing overseas with Drake. Earlier this year, Abdulkadhir Handule was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder. He is serving a life sentence.

The Crown alleges Douglas was left angry, devastated and seeking revenge on Lewis for humiliating his brother months before his murder.''

 

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In related (literally) news..
Dec 29 2022

Slain rapper Smoke Dawg's dad missing in Caribbean

The father of murdered Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg has mysteriously vanished while on vacation in Grenada.

torontosun.com

Wayne Smart, father of slain rapper Smoke Dawg, is reportedly missing in Grenada. GRENADA POLICE

''The father of murdered Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg has mysteriously vanished while on vacation in Grenada — and some social media reports fear the worst.''

''Wayne Smart, 49 — a Canadian citizen — disappeared Dec. 11 and cops in Grenada are asking for the public’s help in determining what happened to him.''