Passerby shot, killed on Yonge Street

Passerby shot, killed on Yonge Street
Last Updated: Monday, January 14, 2008 | 11:56 AM ET
CBC News

Two men in their early 20s have been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder after a shooting near one of the busiest intersections in Toronto.

John O'Keefe died early Saturday morning after he was shot as he walked by the Brass Rail strip club on Yonge Street.John O'Keefe died early Saturday morning after he was shot as he walked by the Brass Rail strip club on Yonge Street.
(CBC)

John O'Keefe, the second homicide victim of 2008, died early Saturday morning as he headed home from a downtown pub.

According to police, at about 1:30 a.m. two men were kicked out of the Brass Rail strip club on Yonge Street south of Bloor. At about the same time O'Keefe left the nearby Duke of Gloucester pub, also on Yonge Street.

The two men ejected from the club returned and fired shots into a crowd outside, hitting O'Keefe. Seconds later the 42-year-old father was dead on the street.

Det. Sgt. Dan Nielsen said the two men kicked out of the strip club tried to shoot a bouncer and O'Keefe just got in the way.

"He was simply walking by the club. He hadn't been inside [the Brass Rail] and in fact there were a number of people in and around that particular area, some from the club, some from other locations on Yonge Street," said Nielsen.

Nielsen said surveillance tapes from the club and witness statements led to the arrest of Awet Zekarias, 22, and Edward Paredes, 23, just hours after the shooting. Both men live in Scarborough.

Nielsen said neither suspect was known to police and the gun used in the shooting was properly registered.

"In this case, I have to say, the handgun was actually a lawfully owned handgun by one of the accused. And in fact he was well aware of how to use it. He had a proper firearms licence, had been trained in safety, he knew quite well he wasn't supposed to have it out there."

Nielsen said the two suspects had been in the bar for less than an hour before the shooting and alcohol is not believed to be a factor.

Zekarias and Paredes appeared in court on Sunday and were formally charged with the first-degree murder of O'Keefe and the attempted murder of the bouncer.

They will appear again in court on Jan. 21.