Police have identified one man charged in connection with a spate of shootings at cinemas across the GTA earlier this year.
Aaron Vincent Elkaim THE CANADIA The Star
York police have identified the silver 2019 Dodge Ram pickup, shown here, as a suspect vehicle involved in four GTA cinema drive-by shootings in January.
On Friday, York Regional Police announced a 27-year-old man from Markham has been charged. “Further suspects are being sought and the investigation is ongoing,” it said in a press release.
Police were first called to a Richmond Hill theatre on January 24, in the area of Highway 7 and East Beaver Creek, “after an employee arrived for work and found the glass front entry doors had been shot,” the release detailed.
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The same day, police responded to a similar call in Vaughan, near Highway 7 and Weston Road. Similar shootings erupted at cinemas in Toronto and Peel Region around the same time.
There were no reported injuries, Const. Lisa Moskaluk, spokesperson for York police, told the Star. “There was nobody in the building... they were shooting at the buildings at like four in the morning,” she said.
Investigators believe the same suspects were involved in all four shootings. One suspect, identified as Andrew Douglas, was charged on Tuesday.
He faces charges of: Weapons dangerous, possession of property under $5,000, possession of property over $5,000, four counts of discharging a firearm, four counts of careless use of a firearm, four counts of use of a firearm, two counts of mischief over $5,000, two counts of mischief under $5,000, two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm, one count of possession of a loaded firearm, conspiracy and intimidation.
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“We know there’s definitely going to be two (suspects),” Moskaluk said. “The one that we arrested, and then whoever was driving the truck.”
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“Whether there was anybody else in that truck, or whoever might have directed them to do those shootings — that would be part of the investigation.”
York police have identified the silver 2019 Dodge Ram pickup, shown here, as a suspect vehicle involved in four GTA cinema drive-by shootings in January.
York Regional Police The Star
Cineplex spokesperson Michelle Saba previously said the company pulled the action film “Malaikottai Vaaliban” from theatres due to circumstances beyond their control.
Saba also said that Cineplex is working closely with local authorities who are leading an investigation related to incidents at their theatres.
According to The Canadian Press, days before the premiere of “Malaikottai Vaaliban,” two distributors were in a feud over the film’s distribution rights. 2Kerala Entertainment Network and KW Talkies have both claimed to have exclusive rights. Both distributors released a list of theatres on social media where the film would be shown.
Neil Vince, representative of Aashirvad, the company that has the North American rights to the movie, confirmed that KW Talkies has exclusive rights in Canada but refused to comment further due to the investigation in progress.
The KW Talkies assertion of exclusive rights prompted 2Kerala Entertainment to serve Cineplex with a legal notice against screening the film.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the York Regional Police #2 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-866-287-5025, ext. 7241, or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or leave an anonymous tip online at www.1800222tips.com.
With files from Fatima Raza and the Canadian Press
Kevin Jiang is a digital producer for the Star, based in Toronto. He previously worked as a breaking news reporter in the radio room.
