A former gang leader who promised to "restart his life" has had his parole suspended after he was shot while leading a free fitness class in Christie Pits Park last month, his lawyer says.

Alejandro Vivar, who was the leader of the Latino Americanos gang in 2007, served more than eight years in prison after he was arrested and convicted of drug and gun-related charges.

John Struthers, Vivar's lawyer, criticized the parole suspension in an email to CBC News, saying it's unfair to incarcerate someone just because they were the victim of a crime.

Vivar tried to turn his life around in prison, Struthers said. And Vivar also documented the attempts to change his life in the column Prison Diary that he wrote for the Kingston Whig Standard during his incarceration.

Since Vivar's release, Struthers said his client has focused on rebuilding his life and starting an exercise business — called 25/7 — which offers a Prison Pump class Vivar said he designed while in custody. He had been leading a free session on July 31 when he was shot several times by an assailant, Toronto police said at the time.

Another person was shot in the foot.

A police spokesperson could not provide an update when called about the investigation Thursday morning.

Parole hearing upcoming

Struthers said that Vivar is still recovering from his injuries. Once he's healthy he will have to appear before the Parole Board, but there's not yet been a date set, Struthers said.

That hearing would determine whether Vivar would return to federal prison or be released again.

Police have not laid any criminal charges or made any "allegations of criminality" against Vivar, his lawyer said.

"He was doing everything he could openly to restart his life on a straight path," Struthers said in the email.

Public safety

The Corrections and Conditional Release Act allows for the parole board to suspend an offender's parole if a member believes he or she could be a threat to public safety, even if they have not been charged with a crime.

No one from parole board returned a request for comment or could provide Vivar's past parole hearing documents Thursday so it's unclear what conditions the man had agreed to uphold.

Often, offenders will be asked to stay away from anyone with a criminal record or connections to crime, University of Toronto criminology professor Anthony Doob said, which he said could also technically be used to justify a suspension.

"I think what you have to realize is that the legislation is very enabling of these kinds of decisions," he said. "And the parole board is, in polite terms, risk averse."

Vivar was released from prison in March 2016. He received a personal training specialist certification while in custody, according to the website for his exercise business.