A 27-year-old man who had already lost his brother to street violence became Toronto's latest homicide victim when he was caught in a hail of gunfire Friday night.
Jahmeel Spence was killed while attending a family barbecue in a townhouse complex at 30 Greenbrae Circuit, in the Bellamy Road and Lawrence Avenue area, shortly after 9 p.m.
Investigators found the lifeless body of a man behind the building. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Spence family has already lost one member to tragedy. Spence's brother Ishmael was stabbed to death in 1996 at the Kennedy subway station. He was 15 years old.
His killer, Dennis Oppong, pleaded guilty to the murder and spent four years in prison. Oppong was shot dead in 2006.
In a cruel twist, Friday night's shooting happened outside the home of Tracy Christie, whose daughter, Christie Christie, was shot dead in a home invasion 14 years ago, forcing the family to relive their own grief.
"One minute they're here and the next they are not. I never knew her, but I knew him and this hurts. Either way when you lose someone, it is a deep wound," said her brother Austin.
Police are still investigating Friday's incident. No arrests have been made.
