There was a shootout on Lakeview street this morning as police and gang members exchanged fire. The cops say they surprised the gangsters in the act of shooting up a rival base, while the neighbourhood says the police came in guns blazing.
And when the smoke cleared all three men were injured and rushed to the KHMH for treatment. But there was also a woman injured in the shootout, and this morning her sister told us that the police are "Chancey" and that the commissioner only ever takes one side.
This was the early morning scene on the corner of Lakeview and Banak streets. Bullet casings as far as the eye could see, the result of an exchange of gunfire between a member of the Mayflower gang and the police. It happened at about 8:30 when that gang member allegedly shot up at a residence thought to be the base of the Banak street gang. Special branch personnel were in the area and rushed there after hearing shots fired. They shot at the gunmen and the gunmen allegedly returned fire.
But it turns out civilians were caught in the crossfire. We spoke to one woman who says her sister Nikita Smith known in the alley as "Bol" was one of the victims.
Pauline Bradley, Sister of shooting victim
"Well I got a phone call from my family members who actually live here that told me that a shooting was taking place somewhere through Mayflower street and my sister was one of them who got shot beside the other three people who got shot. So immediately I got dressed and came and then when I came I got to understand that the first shooting was from one of the guys that hangs out on Banak street with the Meighan they shot one of the guys that hangs out through here because the crowd kinda, the gang crowd has kind of broken in half and so it's a bit of a war between Banak crowd and the mayflower street crowd and we know this has been happening for months, months, it doesn't matter how you call Chester, it doesn't matter what you tell Chester. Apparently to him only through here, the crowd from here are the bad eggs."
And this morning some of that very same crowd from the alley ended up shot, not just Nikita Smith, but three men. There was Shemar Kelly the initial shooting victim, but also his cousins Ainsworth Foreman also known as MACA, and Leonel Kelly known as Jun.
Pauline Bradley, Sister of shooting victim
"The first shooting the boy from Banak street who shot the boy from through yah, everybody heard that somebody got shot through the alley so everybody was running to see who they shot. When they got back there the police were already back there so the police saw the crowd coming and they started to shoot but if you want to contain a crowd you shoot up in the air why would you shoot directly at people. And that's what caused the other three people to get shot, my sister was one of them that got shot in her foot."
The alley and its surrounding streets can expect a heightened police presence all weekend. It's a measure to stop possible retaliations but is it too little too late?
Cherisse Halsall:
"Miss this was an early morning shooting and I know that you say there's gang business going on but is it still in any way shocking to you that all these bullets would be fired off at that hour in the morning?"
Pauline Bradley, Sister of shooting victim
"Well, in this society the way things are going right now with COVID or no COVID nothing shocks you because late at night men are getting shot early in the morning, big day people are getting shot so no, nothing surprises me."
2 of the shooting victims have since been treated and released from the KHMH.
