A Toronto firearms investigation that began with a gun call downtown ended in Mississauga with a 19‑year‑old fatally shot by police and three people, including a 17-year-old girl, now facing dozens of firearm‑related charges.
The arrests stem from a call on Wednesday when officers received a report of a person with a gun near The Esplanade and Lower Jarvis Street around 5:50 p.m.
Toronto police officers launched an investigation and identified a suspect and a Mercedes believed to be involved. Plainclothes officers tracked that vehicle from Toronto westward into Mississauga.
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said the investigation in Mississauga was not connected to the two suspects allegedly behind the U.S. Consulate shooting in Toronto.
Attempted stop leads to fatal police‑involved shooting
Toronto police allege that when officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver tried to flee and struck a plainclothes officer. The interaction escalated with a police officer discharging their firearm that left a 19‑year‑old man dead.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is now probing the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The SIU has confirmed the 19‑year‑old was shot by police and died at the scene. The officer suffered minor injuries.
Toronto police say their firearms investigation continued, resulting in three arrests connected to the original gun call. Naquon Laidley, 23, of Toronto, Kahiem Bailey‑Whitfield, 19, of Mississauga, and a 17-year-old female youth have all been charged and face firearm-related offence.
The 17-year-old cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).
The SIU continues to investigate the full sequence of events that unfolded during the attempted stop in Mississauga, including the fatal shooting of the 19‑year‑old and the officer who was struck.
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