Man charged with uttering threats prior to Toronto mass shooting

Toronto police say an 18-year-old man faces charges of uttering death threats andmultiple weapon charges as part of an investigation into the block party shooting that killed two people and injured 23.

Const. Wendy Drummond said the man allegedly made threats on Danzig Streetthe same day that gunfire eruptedthere onJuly 16, the day of the city's worst mass shooting.

"It's alleged that the threats that were made were to persons that were attending the barbecue," Toronto police Const. Wendy Drummond told CBC News.

Drummond said police have no current information placing the manin the area ofthe shooting, or connecting a gun allegedly seized during his July 27 arrest with the block party incident.

Shaquan Mesquito faces charges of threatening to cause serious bodily harm.

Prior to Wednesday, police had announced only a single arrest in connection with the violence at the street party.

Nahom Tsegazab, 19, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm after his arrest last month.Hedid not face charges in connection with the two people killed on Danzig Street.

"We still require people to come forward with vital information that we know that they have," Drummond said Wednesday.

Police have made repeated appeals in the wake of the shooting for members of the public to provide tips about guns and the people that have them.

In a number of recent gun seizures,police have claimed that public co-operation was a factor in getting the weapons off the street.

According to preliminary statistics posted on the police website,Toronto has seen a rise in shootings this year compared to 2011.

As of Wednesday morning, there had been 156 shootingsrecorded bypolice since the start of the year.

That's a 24.8 per cent increase over the number of shootings reported at the same time last year, but slightly fewer than the number reported at the same point in 2009.