Accused Toronto shooter was free despite torture conviction, alleged gun smuggling indictment - National Post
Copy URL Facebook Linked In X (Twitter) Loading account options Sign In Manage Account Close account menu Sign Out By Tristin Hopper July 13, 2026 at 10:11 p.m. Last Updated: July 13, 2026 at 11:49 p.m. A 25-year-old accused of opening fire on a Toronto nightclub crowd before running over pedestrians in a stolen rideshare vehicle had been free despite being arrested in a torture investigation just last year.
On Sunday, Toronto Police announced that Omar Abdul Singateh, 25, was facing 10 charges, including reckless discharge of a firearm, in connection with a chaotic 3:30 a.m. shooting on the waterfront, in the area of Polson and Cherry streets.
According to police, a man opened fire on patrons leaving the nightclub, before stealing a rideshare vehicle “that had customers on board.”
With four passengers trapped in the car, the shooter then “struck pedestrians and vehicles” while attempting to flee.
At the time of the incident, Singateh was awaiting sentencing for a brutal home invasion and extortion case.
In the summer of 2024, Singateh was one of three men who broke into the home of a Montreal-area cryptocurrency entrepreneur, beating and torturing the victim until he surrendered $15,000 in cryptocurrency.
The victim was “beaten and tortured by his assailants for several hours,” read an April 2025 statement by Montreal law enforcement issued soon after Singateh’s arrest for the crime.
It added, “after succeeding in obtaining from the victim the details required to enable a cryptocurrency transfer, the suspects fled.”
Singateh pleaded guilty in May, just before his trial we set to begin, Le Journal de Montréal reported.
It’s also been just seven months since Singateh was named in a U.S. indictment regarding an alleged smuggling ring moving illegal guns into Canada.
In December 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida named Singateh as a member of a five-man smuggling ring that had moved more than 100 illegal guns into Canada, including some known to have been used in criminal activity.
“These individuals trafficked, and conspired to traffic, more than 100 firearms from Florida to Canada in 2023 and 2024. Of those firearms, 29 were recovered from Canadian crime scenes, including homicides,” read a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The unsealed U.S. indictment listed Singateh’s nicknames as “Debo” and “So Live.”
Toronto gun crimes have been increasing rapidly in recent years, with law enforcement largely crediting a surge of smuggled weapons coming in via the United States. One December incident profiled by The New York Times saw 100 shots fired as part of a gang war that began outside a recording studio. Of 16 firearms connected to the shootout, all had originated in the U.S.
One of Singateh’s new charges is possessing a firearm “while prohibited,” which usually refers to a breach of parole conditions.
As with the U.S. guns Singateh is accused of smuggling into Canada, this firearm was also found at a crime scene. Police announced that a gun was recovered from the stolen rideshare.
Singateh is also charged with “causing bodily harm” via dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, as well as four counts of forcible confinement – an apparent reference to the rideshare passengers trapped in the escaping vehicle.
The people Singateh is alleged to have shot or hit with a car all sustained what police described as “non-life threatening” injuries. Singateh also sustained “gunshot injuries” during the spree.
The waterfront incident was one of several high-profile public shootings to hit Toronto over the weekend. The most notable being a “targeted” shooting that occurred amidst the city’s Salsa on St. Clair street festival. Two people were killed and four injured when two gunmen fired at each other amidst the crowded festival, forcing crowds to flee. Police have not identified the shooters.
The two victims were identified as Shaquan Quashie, 25, and Cesar Vernaza, 20, whom police said were known to each other.
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