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Woman gunned down on way home from funeral in Toronto's west end laid to rest

A woman who was struck by bullets on her way home from a funeral in a fatal drive-by shooting in Toronto's Lawrence Heights neighbourhood last month was laid to rest Sunday.

'Our youth are devastated,' says community member of 31-year-old Jenas Nyarko's death

CBC News ·
Jenas Nyarko, who migrated to Canada from Ghana in 2001, lived in Toronto alone and worked at a shelter, Det. Dave Dickinson of Toronto police said in a news conference following her death. (New Haven Funeral Centre)

A woman who was struck by bullets on her way home from a funeral in a fatal drive-by shooting in Toronto's Lawrence Heights neighbourhood last month was laid to rest Sunday.

Jenas Nyarko, 31, was in a parked car with three other people in the city's west end when a silver SUV drove by and someone opened fire. The three others were unhurt, but Nyarko was struck.

Nyarko, who migrated to Canada from Ghana in 2001, lived alone in Toronto and worked at a shelter, Det. Dave Dickinson of Toronto police said in a news conference following her death. There was nothing that indicates that she or any of the other passengers in the car were targeted, he added.

Just over a month after Nyarko's death, her loss continues to leave her community shaken.

'A lot of people looked up to her'

"Our youth are devastated because she was playing the role of a leader in the the community…. A lot of people looked up to her," Emmanuel Duodu, president of the Ghanaian Canadian Association of Ontario said ahead of her funeral Sunday, which family members from Ghana flew in to attend. 
Emmanuel Duodu, president of the Ghanaian Canadian Association of Ontario, said ahead of her funeral Sunday, that Nyarko was 'well-loved' in her community and that her loss has left many youth devastated. (Keith Burgess/CBC)
Jenas, said Duodu, was "well-loved" and had a very "positive influence" on young people she knew and worked with. 

"She just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. "We hope that this wake-up call will help all of us find ways to stem gun violence in the community."

"It would appear that this is a case of individuals coming from one neighbourhood in the city to another neighbourhood and shooting the first residents they see," Dickinson said at the time. 

No arrests made

Police have released video footage of the attack showing the SUV, a 2010-2016 Cadillac SRX. The vehicle fled the scene to another area in the neighbourhood, opening fire there as well. So far, there remain no updates in the investigation with no arrests made and no word on any suspects.

Mayor John Tory also also responded to the violent attack at a news conference during the Pride parade in June.

"These people are trying to attack our way of life," he said. "They are thugs...we have to get them off the streets. 

Nyarko was one of four homicide victims to be gunned down in the city within a 24-hour period.

Her death marks Toronto's 47th homicide of 2018.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

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