The city’s undercurrent of criminal activity surged this week, marked by a series of brazen acts that painted a stark picture of life on the fringes. While identifying a single “player of the week” feels impossible, two individuals distinguished themselves through a relentless dedication to a dangerous lifestyle.
First, consider Cassim Cummings, a 33-year-old Toronto resident. He was recently arrested following an alleged unprovoked attack in North York, leaving the victim with injuries. The incident, occurring on Yonge Street, involved a stranger approaching and assaulting an unsuspecting pedestrian.
This isn’t Cummings’ first encounter with the law. In 2013, a TTC passenger dared to ask him to stop harassing others, a request met with a violent stabbing at Davisville Station. He was charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, ultimately serving four years in jail.
Even behind bars, trouble seemed to find him. While incarcerated, Cummings faced additional charges – two counts of assault and one of threatening bodily harm – stemming from incidents at Finch and North York Centre stations. Reports detail a choking and an assault on a security guard.
Released on probation, Cummings continued to attract police attention. In 2016, he was again charged, this time for threatening TTC riders and violating his probation. By this point, a lengthy record of prior convictions already shadowed his name.
Then there’s Tajahan Kelly, 30, of Toronto, who recently found himself embroiled in a chaotic kidnapping attempt in Rexdale. A group, including Kelly, allegedly held a victim for an hour, making demands while driving them around the city.
The situation escalated when the group confronted the victim’s homeowner with a shotgun, making off with cash, jewelry, drugs, and the homeowner’s Ford F-150. Kelly now faces a litany of charges, including kidnapping, robbery, and multiple firearm offenses.
Kelly’s history is equally troubling. In 2014, he was implicated in an Oakville home invasion, where suspects armed with knives targeted a woman alone in her apartment. A fingerprint led police to a Mississauga home, where Kelly allegedly fled, driving onto a sidewalk and ramming two police vehicles.
His involvement in a 2018 multi-jurisdictional drug and firearms investigation revealed a disturbing cache of weapons: guns of all sizes, a machine gun, an assault rifle, silencers, grenades, body armor, and a substantial amount of narcotics and cash – totaling $85,000.
More recently, in November 2024, a disturbance call in Thunder Bay led to another confrontation with law enforcement. A gun was pointed at officers, and a vehicle narrowly missed striking one during a pursuit. This resulted in further charges, including drug offenses and failing to comply with court orders.
Are Cummings and Kelly isolated cases, anomalies within the urban landscape? The unsettling truth is they represent a pervasive reality. Individuals like them are far more common than many realize, a constant presence in the city’s hidden corners.
