Police in Canada have arrested and charged a 14-year-old boy with the double murder of two Jamaican men in Toronto earlier this month.

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) provided the update during a press conference on Monday, in which it described the shooting as random.

The teenager, who was also charged with seven counts of attempted murder, made his first appearance in court on Monday.

Those killed were 61-year-old Delroy ‘George’ Parkes and 46-year-old Sylvester ‘Dappa’ Gibbs, who both hailed from St Ann in Jamaica. Parkes had been living in Canada since 1991 and was the father of 11 children. Gibbs was a father of six.

Parkes and Gibbs were among a group of nine men who were playing dominoes in the parking lot of the North Albion Collegiate Institute in northwest Toronto at approximately 11:00 pm on June 2, after earlier playing a game of football. It was a regular weekend routine for members of the Jamaican community in Toronto.

According to the TPS, on the night of the shooting, a dark pickup truck drove into the parking lot and two suspects alighted from the vehicle and began shooting at the group. After firing at least 50 rounds, the suspects fled the area in the truck.

Officers arrived on the scene and located five victims suffering from gunshot wounds. All victims were transported to hospital where Parkes was pronounced deceased on June 2 while Gibbs died from complications from his injuries on June 5.

TPS said that in the early morning hours of June 3, officers became involved in a stolen vehicle investigation in the same area after a stolen truck collided with an empty parked vehicle.

“The driver of the stolen truck attempted to flee but was arrested by officers after a short foot pursuit. Through investigation, it was determined that the youth was one of the suspects involved in the shootings,” TPS said.

Meanwhile, the TPS is appealing to the public to provide any information that may lead to the arrest of other suspects in the case. It described Gibbs and Parkes as innocent victims.