Banquet hall manager vows violence 'will never happen again'

Man dies after being shot at 'Scorpio birthday' party last weekend

The violence that rocked the Atlanta Banquet Halls last weekend "will never happen again," the manager of the Ellesmere Road facility pledged Thursday, Nov. 26.

Five party-goers were hit by bullets as a "Scorpio birthday" celebration was ending Sunday around 3:30 a.m. One was Alton Reid of Pickering, 35, who died in hospital Monday.

On Monday, residents from the nearby Midland Park neighbourhood said they had concerns about the business.

Their city councillor Michael Thompson, noting the hall is unlicensed and did not have a special permit to license the event, accused its ownership of "turning a blind eye" to alcohol brought to the party and said the owner should be held responsible.

Thompson has since learned a catering company hired for the party used its own liquor license to dispense alcohol, then left the building at 2 a.m.

Sarba Theva, the hall manager, said he was in an upstairs office preparing to close up the hall when he heard "a bang-bang-bang noise."

"I looked out the window, I saw people start running," he recalled Thursday.

The hall mainly hosts Hindu wedding celebrations, but has had a few other functions with special occasion permits to serve alcohol.

Theva said he was approached by a man who suggested he wanted the hall for his own birthday party. "When he came to us he said his birthday was on November-something," he said.

"I didn't expect anything to happen like this or anybody to get hurt."

It turned out several people were celebrating Scorpio birthdays, but they provided security guards and when the party neared its scheduled end at 3:30, around 200 guests remained in a room with a capacity of about 300, Theva said.

Since the shooting, the hall has decided to stick to the wedding business from now on and Theva said he has phoned some clients to cancel non-wedding events and return their money.

"More people getting hurt, it's not worth it," he explained.

Thompson said he is encouraged by the actions of the hall management this week and looks forward to meeting Theva and the business owner, but added the incident is still under investigation. "I am trying to get to the bottom of it."

The councillor had promised to introduce a motion Monday at Toronto Council which he said would "serve notice" to other unlicensed entertainment venues operating with special occasion permits.

Though he could not provide details on the motion Wednesday, Thompson said it would be aimed at helping the city "work with" venue owners to keep violence like Sunday's shooting from re-occurring.

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