More than 100 Somali mothers left the auditorium at Toronto police headquarters with the pledge they’d desperately sought from the police board: a formal partnership to combat the gun violence threatening their communities.

The women, some who’d lost children to shootings, wanted to prevent more deaths in Toronto’s Somali neighbourhoods.

Within hours of securing that pledge, more fatal shots were fired. A 16-year-old boy was gunned down early Thursday in a North York apartment building.

Police have not yet named the boy but friends and neighbours in the building identified him as Hanad Abdullahi.

“I’ve known him my entire life. The sweetest kid,” said Jennifer Boahen, who said she is a close friend of Abdullahi’s family.

“It’s a shock. This whole community, we are grieving.”

Police were called to the red-brick highrise at 30 Falstaff Ave., near Jane St. and Hwy. 401, at 1:07 a.m. after reports of a shooting. They found the boy unresponsive. He died at the scene.

Three suspects were seen fleeing the area in a dark-coloured Honda, Toronto police spokesperson Katrina Arrogante said.

Boahen said Abdullahi was heading home from playing video games with friends at a neighbouring highrise — another in the trio of tall Toronto Community Housing Corp. (TCHC) apartment blocks beside the 401 — when he was shot.

After visiting Abdullahi’s family Thursday afternoon, York South—Weston MPP Faisal Hassan said they’re devastated, but also frustrated by what they said was a slow response from police.

“Kids are dying in their own community. It’s unacceptable. Something has to be done,” Hassan said.

Hassan also called for an inquiry into recent deaths in Toronto’s Somali community to determine if this is a “systemic” issue.

Abdullahi’s mother, he said, immigrated to Canada before her son was born.

On Wednesday, the Somali mothers urged the Toronto police board to provide adequate resources to battle youth violence, incorporate the mothers into community liaison work and make changes to the Toronto police neighbourhood officer program.

The mothers’ group had been meeting every Saturday morning for four years to discuss methods to end gun violence, improve communication with police and find ways to resolve difficulties they face as Black, Muslim and immigrant mothers, group members told the Star’s Wendy Gillis.

“The graveyards are filling up,” said Shamso Mohamud, whose son was killed in Toronto in 2008.

The board later passed a motion directing staff to work with the mothers on opportunities for a partnership, including drafting a “memorandum of understanding” to be approved at a September board meeting.

Meanwhile, at 30 Falstaff, police and members of the forensic identification unit could be seen working through the afternoon Thursday.

A black forensic van and several cruisers were parked at the front entrance. By mid-afternoon, yellow tape that cordoned off a section of the building’s side entrance had been removed.

Inside, an officer stood watch outside a taped-off door to the stairwell on the 12th floor.

On the ground floor, community members could be seen meeting inside a common area, some covering their faces, shedding tears and hugging each other for comfort as they left the private gathering.

Boahen, the family friend, said there have been security concerns in the neighbourhood for a long time, and residents have been asking for more security cameras.

“This was not the first shooting that happened at Falstaff, and this probably won’t be the last. That’s just the sad reality,” she said.

In an emailed statement, TCHC said it has shared surveillance video with police and its staff will work alongside the city’s crisis response team to support residents. It also plans to hold a meeting in which residents can share their concerns with authorities.

“We are saddened by this senseless act of gun violence and tragic loss of life. Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and loved ones and the entire Jane Falstaff community,” the statement said.

The housing complex contains 669 subsidized units, TCHC said.

Records from Toronto police and the Star show several killings at or near the highrises in recent years, as well as several other shootings.

In February 2010, 22-year-old Tyrell Duffus was shot dead in the stairwell of 20 Falstaff Ave., a highrise next door to where Abdullahi was killed.

In June 2006, 20-year-old Jermaine Miller was shot dead at a nearby community centre in a killing that remains unsolved.

Barni Siyad, a mother who said she was on her way to visit Abdullahi’s family Thursday, said her children go to the same school he attended.

She described Abdullahi as a “very good” boy who would not cause trouble anywhere.

“Very active, very humble, very good. That’s all I know about him,” she said. “I feel very bad for his mother. This is a very terrible thing to happen.”

Abdullahi is Toronto’s 35th homicide victim of 2019, and the 19th killed in a shooting.

Including him, 28 males and seven women have been killed in Toronto so far this year. They are:

Ian Dyer, 36, was stabbed in a Toronto Community Housing building near Danforth and Midland Aves. on Jan. 6. Leigh Min, 34, was arrested two days later and charged with first-degree murder.

Lorraine Kerubo Ogoti, 30, was stabbed in an eighth-floor unit of a Scarborough apartment building on Jan. 8. Her boyfriend, Mowlid Hassan, 40, was found dead outside the building. Police have concluded Ogoti’s death was a murder-suicide.

Aseel Yehya, 18, was shot on Elmhurst Dr. near Redwater Dr. in Etobicoke on Jan. 9 after police said a dark-coloured vehicle approached him.

Lingathasan Suntharamoorthy, 36, was shot in an apartment building near Dundalk Dr. and Antrim Cres. on Jan. 12.

Hanh (Hana) Nguyen, 41, was stabbed at her home near Jane St. and St. Clair Ave. W., on Jan. 24. Austin Le, 40, was found at the scene and charged with second-degree murder.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Veronika Mrhova, 24, was shot while sitting in a Mercedes-Benz near Lake Shore Blvd. and Silver Moon Dr. early on Feb. 10. She died in hospital five days later.

Dean Howlett, 25, was shot in an apartment building on Lawrence Ave. E. west of Kingston Rd. in Scarborough on Feb. 12. Naod Tsegazab, 22, of Toronto, was later charged with second-degree murder.

Nicklus McKain, 18, was shot near 18 John Garland Blvd., near Kipling Ave. and Albion Rd., in Rexdale on Feb. 24. He died in hospital.

Jason Otis Lewis, 47, was found dead at an apartment on Broadway Ave., near Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. E. on March 4. An autopsy found he died of blunt-force trauma. Quentin Luke Lewis, 42, was arrested two days later and charged with second-degree murder.

Nashwan Yonan, 32, was shot at a gas station at Eglinton Ave. E. and Avenue Rd. shortly after midnight on March 8. He died in hospital nearly two weeks later on March 21.

Martin Anthony Johnson, 51, was shot at a North York apartment complex near Keele St. and Sheppard Ave. W. on March 11.

Jennyfer Lachappelle, 41, was found dead on at an apartment near Davenport Rd. and Symington Ave. on March 13. Andrew Gerber, 38, has been charged with second-degree murder. Friends said Gerber and Lachappelle were in a relationship and may have been engaged.

Helen Fronczak, 79, was found dead at an apartment near Kipling Ave. and Eglinton Ave. W. on March 19. Larry Fronczak, 80, has been charged with second-degree murder.

Jerome Belle, 22, was shot near Dundas West subway station in the Junction on March 20. He died in hospital.

Rae Cara Carrington, 51, was stabbed in the PATH system near King St. W and Bay St. on April 10. Her son, Duncan O’Neil Sinclair, 19, of Toronto, was arrested two days later and charged with first-degree murder.

Wilfred Kent Truman, 77, was killed in his home near Eglinton Ave. W. and Black Creek Dr. on April 15. Kyle Truman, 49, of Toronto, has been charged with first-degree murder.

Jermaine Gerard Skeete, 34, was shot at 571 Vaughan Rd. near Oakwood Ave. on April 21. He later died in hospital.

Lawrence Taylor Gannon, 28, was shot on Ivy Green Cres., near Brimorton Dr. and Orton Park Rd., in Scarborough on April 28. He died in hospital two days later.

Premachchandran Sundaralingam, 53, was found injured inside a home near Renforth Dr. and Rathburn Rd. on April 28. Police later determined he had been injured in an altercation. He died in hospital the next day. Richard Turner, 48, of Toronto, was arrested on May 2 and has been charged with manslaughter, aggravated assault and threatening death.

Blain Gerrado Grindley, 26, was shot dead in Rexdale near John Garland Blvd. and Humber College Blvd. on May 1. Michael Smith, 29, of Toronto, surrendered to police on May 20. He is charged with first degree murder. Police are still looking for Dayne Sitladeen, 27, of Mississauga.

Justin Kyle Ezeard, 23, was shot at a commercial establishment near Steeles Ave. W. and Islington Ave. on May 3. Shawn Vassel, 35, of Toronto, was arrested on July 10, charged with second-degree murder.

Brendon Bowler, 17, was stabbed near Sir Wilfrid Laurier C.I. near Guildwood Pkwy. and Livingston Rd. on May 6. Emmett Carew, 18, and Cheddi Itwaroo, 20, both of Toronto, are charged with second-degree murder.

Valland Spolarich, 43, was found dead at his home at Shanly St. and Westmoreland Ave. on May 21. Herculano Pimentel, 50, of Toronto has been charged with second-degree murder.

Hassan Gutale Ali, 52, was found dead in an apartment on June 6. Abdullahi Osman, 55, was arrested on June 12 and charged with first-degree murder.

James Andrew Smith, 52, was stabbed while he was standing at the door of 730 Yonge St. near Charles St. on June 8. Eric Bryant Ram, 24, of no fixed address, has been charged with second-degree murder.

Johnson Reyes, 61, was stabbed at Parkwoods Village Dr. and Gisburn Rd., west of Victoria Park Ave. in North York on June 28.

Jaydin Simpson, 17, was shot in a parking lot near Danzig St. and Morningside Ave. in Scarborough on June 28.

Christopher Teape, 25, and Ahmed Mohamud, 32, both from Toronto, were shot at an apartment building on Emmett Ave., near Jane St. and Eglinton Ave. W. A third man was also shot, and suffered non life-threatening injuries. Denzil Kemoy Williams, 33, of Toronto, was arrested July 27, and charged with two counts of first degree murder.

Jordan Armstrong, 33, was shot inside Orchid nightclub on Peter St., near Spadina Ave. Staff found the club promoter suffering from gunshot wounds at 3 a.m. and he later died in hospital.

Dwain Frederick Adams, 61, was assaulted in a restaurant near Queen St. E. and Sherbourne St. on July 1. He died in hospital on July 6. Patrick Gayle, 46, was arrested for aggravated assault, which was later upgraded to manslaughter on July 6.

Kathryn Niedoba, 36, was found with life-threatening injuries near Dovercourt Park on July 18 and died in hospital. Matthew Larmon, 43, of Toronto, was arrested the next day and charged with manslaughter.

Hanad Abdullahi, 16.

In 2018, Toronto broke its record for homicides in a single year, with 96 in total.