Eight people were charged Tuesday morning in connection with the Boxing Day shooting that killed 15-year-old Jane Creba and injured six other bystanders in downtown Toronto.

Two adults and one teenager are charged with second-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair told a news conference.

Jane Creba, 15, was shot to death on Dec. 26, as two groups of people exchanged gunfire in a crowd of holiday shoppers on Yonge Street.
Jane Creba, 15, was shot to death on Dec. 26, as two groups of people exchanged gunfire in a crowd of holiday shoppers on Yonge Street.

Four other adults and one teen are charged with manslaughter.

The shooting last December made international headlines because Creba and others were holiday shopping when they were caught in the crossfire of what investigators believe was a gang-related turf war.

Blair said a warrant has been issued for a man who is out of the country and police will seek his extradition from England. A warrant has also been issued for a male teenager.

The police chief said investigators allege all the suspects were members or associates of street gangs in Toronto.

They are to appear in a Toronto courtroom Wednesday morning.

The adults charged include:

  • Tyshaun Barnett, 19 - second-degree murder, six counts attempted murder.
  • Louis Woodcock, 19 - second-degree murder, six counts attempted murder.
  • Andrew Smith, 20 - manslaughter.
  • Andre Thompson, 20 - manslaughter.
  • Vincent Davis, 25 - manslaughter.
  • Shaun Thompson, 21 - manslaughter.
  • Male, 17 - second-degree murder, six counts attempted murder.
  • Male, 17 - manslaughter.

The teenagers cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Early-morning raids

The arrests came after a series of early-morning raids in north-end Toronto by the city's guns and gangs task force.

As a result of the investigation, 17 other people were charged with a variety of drug, weapons and assault charges, Blair said.

Police also charged two men on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in southeastern Ontario with a number of firearms and drug charges in connection with the investigation, he said.

"This has been an extended and very complicated investigation," Blair said.

Police informed Creba's family and the six bystanders injured in the shootings of the arrests on Tuesday morning.

"The Creba family has responded with great courage in the face of unspeakable tragedy," Blair said.

Witness protection, rewards

Creba was shot to death on Dec. 26 as two groups of people exchanged gunfire in a crowd of shoppers on Yonge Street.

One person arrested after the shooting was charged with eight firearms-related offences.

In March, investigators released photos of a person of interest, taken from security cameras at the nearby Toronto Eaton Centre shopping mall.

At the same time, police also said several people were in a witness protection program.

Police offered a $50,000 reward in April to anyone with information that would lead to the conviction of her shooter.

Blair wouldn't say whether the man in the video was connected to the investigation or whether the reward played a role in the arrests.

Creba's shooting capped a year that saw a record 52 shootings in Toronto.

It came in the midst of the campaign leading up to the Jan. 23 federal election, prompting promises from politicians that they would bring in measures to crack down on gun crime and toughen sentences for crimes committed with firearms.