Toronto Police have charged a 40-year-old man with a long and violent criminal past in connection with the city's first homicide of 2026—a fatal shooting on a GO bus at the Yorkdale terminal.
Deadly Shooting on Public Transit
The incident occurred around 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at the Yorkdale GO Bus Terminal located at Yorkdale Road and Allen Road in North York. According to police, both the victim and the suspect boarded a bus at the terminal. It is alleged the suspect then shot the victim on the bus before fleeing the area on foot.
Officers who responded to the scene found the male victim suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite life-saving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the location. Investigators are working to notify his next of kin, and his identity has not yet been released.
Suspect's Extensive Criminal Record
Police located the suspect, identified as Tyrel Gibson of Toronto, inside Yorkdale Mall shortly after the shooting. A firearm was recovered. Gibson has been charged with first-degree murder.
Court records show Gibson is no stranger to the justice system. He has reportedly been convicted over the years of numerous serious offences, including:
- Attempted murder
- Assault
- Robbery
- Firearms charges
- Breaking and entering
- Uttering threats
Police have not released details about a possible motive for the deadly shooting on the GO bus.
A Family History Steeped in Violence
The alleged killer's family members also have deep ties to violent crime in Toronto. His brother, Marcus Gibson, was shot and killed at age 24 in his Rivertowne home in November 2016. That murder was believed to be connected to a conflict between the Regent Park-based Sick Thugz gang and a splinter group known as the Halal Gang.
In 2017, a source described the internal gang war as an "internal cleansing," which resulted in six deadly shootings over 11 months, including the death of an innocent grandmother. Marcus Gibson, who also went by the name "Ruckus," was one of three men acquitted of first-degree murder in the 2014 shooting of Tariq Mohammed at a Dundas Street West restaurant.
Furthermore, a cousin, Michael "Teddy" Gibson, was wanted for the murder of Julian Weekes in March 2016. Michael Gibson was later arrested in Aruba in May 2017 for the alleged murder of Thuy Hoang Nguyen Quach, an acquaintance from Regent Park. The status of that international case is currently unknown.
Tyrel Gibson made his first court appearance in Toronto on Monday, January 5, 2026, and remains in custody awaiting a bail hearing. The investigation into Toronto's first homicide of the new year is ongoing. Police are urging anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
