Toronto

A fatal shooting in Ajax Saturday and the killing of a teen in Toronto last month are the latest deadly hits in a feud between two inner-city gangs, Sun sources say.

Sources familiar with the city’s street gangs say six fatal shootings in the past 11 months — one of which was an innocent grandmother — are believed to be the result of a war between the Regent Park-based gang Sick Thugz and a newer splinter group called Halal.

One anonymous source described the conflict as an “internal cleansing,” with Halal picking off senior Sick Thugz members.

The latest murder actually occurred east of the city around 2:45 a.m. Saturday when Durham Regional Police found Jermaine Auld, 33, shot to death in an Ajax home.

Auld had suspected ties to the Sick Thugz, a source said.

Two weeks earlier, on Jan. 30, Ali Rizeig, 18, was gunned down in front of his family’s Regent Park townhome.

Sources say Rizeig may have had ties to Halal.

Back on Nov. 27, Marcus Gibson, 24, was shot dead in the bedroom of his River Town home. He was a suspected a Sick Thugz member.

Close by, on Aug. 27, came the death of bystander Peggy Smith, 61, who was spending time with her grandkids in River Town when she was killed in a suspected gang-related shooting.

Sick Thugz have battled with other city gangs in recent years, but members have also opened fire on each other.

The infamous June 2012 Eaton Centre shooting saw a gunman with suspected ties to the Sick Thugz kill Ahmed Hassan and Nixon Nirmalendran, who were suspected members of the Regent Park gang.

A Toronto Police detective said at the time that Hassan, Nirmalendran and the shooter Christopher Husbands were all associated with the same gang but wouldn’t specify which one.

Tracing the Trail of Bloodshed

March 23, 2016: Ceyon Carrington, aka C-Sick, 29, who had suspected ties to Sick Thugz, was gunned down at a recording studio on Carlaw Ave. near Dundas St. E.

April 2, 2016: Julian Weekes, 29, who may have had ties to the Halal gang, was shot dead outside a bar on Queen St. E., near Parliament St., after attending Carrington’s memorial.

Aug. 27, 2016: Innocent victim Peggy Smith, 61, was enjoying time with her grandkids in River Town when she was killed in a suspected gang-related shooting.

Nov. 27, 2016: Marcus Gibson, 24, a suspected Sick Thugz member, was shot to death in the bedroom of his River Town home, just up the street from where Smith was slain three months earlier.

Jan. 30, 2017: Ali Rizeig, 18, who had suspected ties to Halal, was gunned down outside his Regent Park townhouse on Gerrard St. E. near Sumach St.

Feb. 11, 2017: Jermaine Auld, 33, who had suspected ties to Sick Thugz, was gunned down during an apparent home invasion in Ajax.

— With files from Chris Doucette

TDavidson@postmedia.com