Accused Toronto shooter was free despite torture conviction, alleged gun smuggling indictment

Tristin Hopper: He was one of three men who broke into a Montreal home, beating and torturing the victim until he surrendered $15,000 in cryptocurrency

A 25-year-old accused of opening fire on a Toronto nightclub crowd before running over pedestrians in a stolen rideshare vehicle had been free despite being arrested in a torture investigation just last year. On Sunday, Toronto Police announced that Omar Abdul Singateh, 25, was facing 10 charges, including reckless discharge of a firearm, in connection with a chaotic 3:30 a.m. shooting outside the city’s Rebel nightclub. According to police, a man opened fire on patrons leaving the nightclub, before stealing a rideshare vehicle “that had customers on board.”

With four passengers trapped in the car, the shooter then “struck pedestrians and vehicles” while attempting to flee. At the time of the incident, Singateh was awaiting sentencing for a brutal home invasion and extortion case. In the summer of 2024, Singateh was one of three men who broke into the home of a Montreal-area cryptocurrency entrepreneur, beating and torturing the victim until he surrendered $15,000 in cryptocurrency.

The victim was “beaten and tortured by his assailants for several hours,” read an April 2025 statement by Montreal law enforcement issued soon after Singateh’s arrest for the crime. It added, “after succeeding in obtaining from the victim the details required to enable a cryptocurrency transfer, the suspects fled.” Singateh pleaded guilty in May, just before his trial we set to begin, Le