Toronto teen hired as hitman in tow-truck war, pleads guilty to first-degree murder
A 16-year-old contract killer shot tow-truck driver Sulakshan Selvasingam nine times at a Toronto gas station on July 6, 2024. The teen pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
Teen contract killer executed tow-truck driver on orders from industry insiders
A 16-year-old hired gun shot and killed tow-truck driver Sulakshan "Sully" Selvasingam nine times at a Shell gas station at Warden Ave. and Ellesmere Rd. in Toronto on the night of July 6, 2024. Toronto Sun Crime reports that the teenager, identified only as A.P., has since pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with what prosecutors describe as a contract killing tied to the city's violent tow-truck industry.
According to an agreed statement of facts filed at his guilty plea, A.P. received instructions the day before the killing from an adult who told him to shoot Selvasingam in the body and, once he went down, deliver a final shot to the head. He was also told to record the murder and send proof of completion in exchange for payment.
Selvasingam, 28, had been attending a car meet at Kennedy Commons plaza that evening with a friend. The two left around 10 p.m. to get food, but Selvasingam said he needed to make a brief stop first. He drove into the Shell station and parked driver's side to driver's side alongside A.P.'s stolen white Honda Civic — an unwitting meeting with his killer. A.P. fired nine rounds, including a shot to the head. Selvasingam's mother and sister wept in the courtroom as the detail was read aloud; A.P., now 18, showed no emotion.
After the shooting, A.P. and two associates drove to Uxbridge, where they disposed of the Honda's stolen licence plates in a sewer drain, set the car on fire, and fled in a stolen black Acura.
"Influential adults" recruited young offenders for industry violence
Crown attorney Sharna Reid told Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell that Selvasingam had already been the target of violence before his death and that his murder was directly connected to ongoing conflict within the tow-truck industry.
"Influential adults connected to the tow truck industry recruited A.P. to commit this offence," Reid said. "They had access to firearms and were prepared to engage in retaliatory violence within the towing industry. These adults use young persons, including A.P., by offering him a sum of money to carry out the murder of Mr. Selvasingam."
Reid added that the same adults who arranged Selvasingam's killing also tasked A.P. with carrying out other shootings targeting businesses connected to the tow-truck trade. A.P. pleaded guilty to 13 counts of reckless discharge of a firearm between May and July 2024 at locations including two cinemas, an auto collision centre, and a towing company. In each case, the young offenders were instructed to film the attacks as proof of completion.
Two co-accused pleaded guilty last week to being accessories to the discharge of a firearm. Outside court, Selvasingam's father — who declined to be named, saying he still lives in fear — said he believes the three were paid just $7,500 for the hit, though the agreed statement of facts contained no reference to any fee. He blamed his son's "business competitors" for hiring teenagers to carry out violence on their behalf.
"Somebody paid money for them to kill my son," the father said.
He recalled urging Selvasingam to leave the industry, aware of the dangers it carried. His son had owned his own truck but had assured his father three months before his death that he was getting out.
"We heard every day they burn tow trucks, they shoot at tow truck drivers, so many things," the father said. "I said, 'Don't do that. This is very dangerous job.'"
Loaded gun linked to killing found on arrest
A.P. and one accomplice were arrested on July 15 after an unmarked OPP cruiser's automatic licence plate reader flagged a stolen 2020 Dodge Charger on Highway 401. When police moved to stop the vehicle, A.P. crossed multiple lanes, exited at Keele St., ran a red light, and when officers attempted to box him in, he and his passenger abandoned the still-moving car and fled on foot. Upon his arrest, a loaded Glock 23 .40 calibre handgun fell from A.P.'s satchel.
"The firearm was the firearm used to kill Mr. Selvasingam nine days earlier," Reid said.
A sentencing date has not yet been set. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the maximum penalty for first-degree murder is 10 years, with a minimum of six years served in custody.
Source: Toronto Sun Crime