The investigations into two targeted shootings that killed two men in Toronto and Vaughan, Ont., earlier this year share the same suspect, police say.

Investigators with Toronto and York regional police told reporters Tuesday that the deaths of Chandan Kumar Raja Nandakumar and Sergio Lopes are connected.

Around 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 7, the 37-year-old Raja Nandakumar was shot in the parking lot of Woodbine Shopping Centre in Etobicoke.

Officers found the Brampton resident inside a car suffering from gunshot wounds, which police described as life-threatening. He was taken to hospital, where he later died.

He was Toronto’s third homicide victim of the year. Global News learned Raja Nandakumar was a software engineer, and police believe he was targeted. Friends described him as a kind, helpful and soft-spoken person.

1:42
Police identify victim of Monday’s fatal daylight shooting in Vaughan

On Jan. 26, Lopes, 65, was shot and killed outside his carpentry business in Vaughan. It was just after 1 p.m. when police responded to 911 calls for the shooting.

The Richmond Hill resident had been shot multiple times; he was rushed to hospital, where he later died. Lopes was described as a respected member of the community and a loving father and husband.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Police said the suspect or suspects fled in a black SUV, which was found on fire near Kipling and Woodbridge avenues.

Investigators said Tuesday that two 19-year-old men are wanted on first-degree murder and arson charges, and allege that one of them was involved in both homicides.

“It was similarities that led our services to speak to each other that then provided the situation we’re here today,” Toronto police Det-Sgt. Sandra Arruda said.

“I can’t get into the evidentiary nature of what seemed to be similar.”

Arruda did say one of those similarities was stolen vehicles that were used in the shootings.

Edmonton’s Isaiah Thomas Badger and Mississauga’s Jacob Wallace are the individuals wanted. Police believe they’re both in the Greater Toronto Area, and are asking the public not to approach them and to call 911.

“To Mr. Badger and Mr. Wallace, we’re coming for you. Turn yourselves in. Hire a lawyer,” Arruda said.

“To anyone else who has assisted these two individuals, including anyone who may be helping them evade police, you are committing a criminal offence. You will be investigated, arrested and charged where evidence supports it.”

Arruda alleged Badger acted alone in Raja Nandakumar’s homicide, while York Regional Police Det. Sgt. Jonathan Nauman alleged Wallace drove the getaway car in Lopes’ slaying.

Badger is also wanted by Edmonton police on outstanding weapons charges, Arruda said.

“It’s shocking to me that we’re standing here with two 19-year-olds wanted for first-degree murder, and for Mr. Isaiah Badger to be wanted for two separate homicides,” he said.

“It’s shocking to me.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A Markham man who drove drunk with only a G2 licence, causing a head-on collision that killed off-duty York Regional Police (YRP) officer Travis Gillespie, has been sentenced to six years in a penitentiary.

Haoju Zhou was found guilty of impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death last October after a judge-alone trial.

Along with the six-year prison sentence, Justice Mark Edwards imposed a 10-year driving prohibition which goes into effect from the day of sentence.

Edwards said that Zhou, a citizen of China who was an international student at York University at the time of the crash, could be deported at the expiry of his sentence.

The incident took place on Sept. 14, 2022, around 6 a.m., when Gillespie was driving along Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham on his way to work at YRP 2 District in Richmond Hill where he worked as a police constable.

Zhou, who was driving in his father’s Porsche Cayenne SUV, was travelling eastbound.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

As he reached the crest of a hill, Zhou veered into westbound lanes of traffic and slammed into Gillespie’s car, causing it to spin counterclockwise and hit a dump truck.

Gillespie, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy found the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

Zhou was arrested at the scene and transported to Markham Stouffville Hospital.

Zhou’s blood alcohol level (BAC) at the time of the crash was 80 mg per 100 ml of alcohol. In Ontario, a driver with a G2 licence must maintain a 0.00% blood alcohol level.

“He came to Canada as an international student to study at York University. Like so many other drivers he made a terrible mistake. By getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle knowing he was intoxicated, he went from a law-abiding citizen to someone facing life in prison,” said Edwards.

The maximum sentence for impaired driving causing death is life imprisonment.

The judge noted that Zhou was a youthful offender with no prior criminal record, nor any Highway Traffic Act (HTA) convictions.

“He was a relatively young man with relatively little driving experience, reflected by the fact he had a G2 licence. His father warned him not to drink and drive … He chose to do what he knew was wrong. It resulted in a totally needless and avoidable tragedy,” said Edwards.

The Crown had suggested a sentence of seven years, whereas defence said the range of four years was more appropriate.

After enhanced credit for 10-and-a-half months spent in pre-trial custody, Zhou has four years and seven months left to serve.

As he was let out of the courtroom in handcuffs, Gillespie’s family said they were relieved.

“I’m glad he showed up for court today. I was nervous he would flee and I’m glad he left the courtroom in handcuffs,” said Dan Gillespie, the victim’s brother. “He’s dragged my family through this for the past three-and-a-half years.”

Gillespie’s girlfriend said she hopes others think twice before getting behind the wheel after drinking or using drugs.

“Just don’t drive impaired,” she said. “It’s dumb. Just stop. It’s common sense.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Ontario’s inspector general of policing is launching a review of the province’s police services and boards amid accusations of corruption within Toronto police.

Ryan Teschner announced the probe at a news conference Monday, days after York Regional Police charged seven active Toronto police officers and one retired Toronto officer in their investigation, dubbed Project South, which looked into organized crime and corruption.

The allegations against those officers include bribery, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking, theft of personal property, breach of trust and the unauthorized access and distribution of confidential information.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

A day after those accusations sent shockwaves through the region, Peel Regional Police suspended three officers pending further investigation by York Regional Police.

“If there are vulnerabilities within the systems currently in place in Ontario’s policing sector, or in the standards that it must adhere to, it is essential that they are identified so meaningful, system-wide improvements can be made,” Teschner said.

“This provincewide inspection will be conducted under the authority of Ontario’s Community Safety and Policing Act, the province’s policing legislation, and it will focus on five defined areas with the ability to examine additional ones as the inspection unfolds.”

Teschner said those five areas are officer supervision and span of control, screening and vetting of officers, access to police databases and information systems, evidence and property management, and substance abuse and fitness for duty.

More to come.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Toronto police knew it had a trust issue before seven serving officers were charged as part of an organized crime investigation.

A study completed by the police services board last year found public trust in the force was “strained,” with many concerned about misconduct and the uneven application of standards.

“From the public, we heard similar concerns about mistrust, systemic bias, and a lack of visible accountability,” part of a lengthy study found.

“Repeated incidents of misconduct and social media narratives reinforce skepticism, especially among youth and newcomer communities.”

Those concerns spiralled into a crisis on Thursday, when York Regional Police announced they had charged seven serving Toronto cops in a massive corruption and organized crime investigation.

The charges included allegedly leaking police information to an organized crime group that then carried out shootings, exortions and robberies. Other charges relate to alleged bribery.

Those charges have left police leadership in the difficult position of trying to explain and investigate what happened.

Global News crime analyst Hank Idsinga said the force had a lot of work left to rebuild already fragile public trust.

“I think you’ve got a lot of questions, I think you’ve got a lot of questions that haven’t been answered yet,” he said.

“Toronto, what the heck is going on down there? Especially if you take into consideration everything that has happened over the last few years in this city.”

Idsinga pointed out that, if the charges against the officers are proven, it could cast doubt on testimony they’d provided in other cases, potentially opening up a stream of appeals.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

“Maybe they’re involved in an armed robbery investigation from five or six years ago. And if they were a key witness to that armed robbery investigation and somebody was convicted and is doing jail time,” he said.

“I guarantee the defence lawyer from that case is going to look at that list of officers here involved and say, ‘Hold on a second, the credibility of this officer who was a key witness when my client was convicted is absolutely in question. I’m filing an appeal.’”

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow told reporters Thursday she would meet with Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw to resolve the issue.

During an event, the local police chief disavowed the accused officers, saying their alleged actions did not represent the service.

“The allegations against these individuals do not represent the Toronto Police Service,” Demkiw said. “They do not represent who you are. They do not represent what our organization is and stands for.”

Ian Scott, the former director of the Special Investigations Unit, said police had taken a “big step” in announcing the arrests and accepting there was a problem.

“But to some degree they are fighting a bit of a rear-guard action,” he explained. “The misconduct and alleged criminal offences have taken place, and they’re trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.”

There are those who say neither Demkiw, nor the police services board, nor the mayor can lead any investigation into how seven Toronto police officers were allegedly corrupted.

Ontario Liberal MPP Karen McCrimmon said the charges had shattered confidence in Toronto police — leaving the force at a delicate crossroads.

“These are very, very serious charges and it really does strike at the heart of the relationship between the police and the constituents. That trust and that bond,” she told Global News.

“I think this is very, very dangerous.”

McCrimmon said the provincial government must order a judicial inquiry into Toronto police and the officers to rebuild trust. Any investigation that isn’t open to the public, she said, would fall short.

“It’s not as important for justice to be done if it’s not seen to be done; it has to be both. It has to be fully accountable to the people and they have to have trust in the process so it can’t be manipulated,” McCrimmon said.

“For a full judicial inquiry, you’re before a judge and lawyers, there are guardrails … you know that the outcome is real. It’s valid, it’s legitimate. Anything else done behind closed doors or done informally will not have that same credibility with people.”

A spokesperson for Ontario’s Solicitor General Michael Kerzner did not address questions and said only local police would answer them.

Premier Doug Ford appeared to brush off the suggestion, saying the investigation would be well-handled by local cops.

“The investigation is ongoing, so they’re going to continue their investigation,” he said on Wednesday. “I feel both chiefs are doing an incredible job, and they’re going to cross every ‘t’ and dot every ‘i.’”

Ford said the arrest of seven serving officers in a massive organized crime investigation should not shake public confidence.

“I don’t want to paint a broad brush or tarnish the police,” he said.

“We have phenomenal police officers … I don’t want the pubic to lose trust in our great trust, they are incredible. There’s always, (in) any organization, a few bad apples and the courts are going to decide.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.