A 17-year-old man is dead after shots were fired at a party taking place in a church basement in Ajax early Friday morning.
About 100 teens were at the party when several men got into a verbal argument in the parking lot of St. Nedela Macedonian Orthodox Church on Bayly Street. The altercation quickly turned violent when a gun was pulled on the crowd.
The teen was fatally shot as he sat in a car in the parking lot behind the church. Several male suspects were seen fleeing the scene in a car.
A friend of the shooting victim tried to get the teen into a vehicle so that he could drive him to the hospital but police and paramedics promptly arrived on scene.
The young man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Friends identified the victim as Chris Tshilombo -- an aspiring rapper known as Splitz.
"He was more like a poet," said friend Saad Khokhar. "He had a way with his words."
Khokhar said the teen was good at school and enjoyed studying languages.
"The words he used would touch you," he said.
"The thing that sucks when you have so many friends is that when you go, you break too many hearts," said another friend.
Tshilombo was attending summer school at a Pickering high school.
Police were able to interview several people who were at the party when the shooting broke out. However, authorities say they have yet to make an arrest in connection with the case.
"The investigation is ongoing," police said in a news release Friday.
Authorities say the victim was targeted in the attack but they're not sure why. Police said the room was rented out for a birthday party.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Haight of Durham's homicide unit at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 5247.
