Toronto brothers charged in barber's killing

Police say two brothers from Toronto have been charged with the first-degree murder of a Scarborough barber.

Christopher Thompson, 35, was shot while cutting a customer’s hair at the Cut Creator barbershop in the Malvern Town Centre on Jan. 24.

Surveillance video showed a man outside the barbershop in the moments before Thompson was killed with what appeared to be a shotgun.

The man then entered the shop and was seen fleeing from the scene seconds later.

On Tuesday, Toronto police announced that they had made arrests in the case, almost a month after Thompson was slain.

Det. Sgt. Dan Nielsen said police executed search warrants in Ottawa, Toronto and Orillia on Monday.

Five men were arrested after the raids, two of whom are charged in Thompson’s killing. Police also seized stolen property, weapons and cocaine during the raids.

Nielsen said 27-year-old Kevin Perez and 22-year-old Christopher Perez have been charged with first-degree murder. The accused are brothers and they are both from the Malvern area.

Kevin Perez is believed to be the man seen entering the barbershop on the surveillance video, Nielsen said.

For the Thompson family, the arrest was a relief.

"We're happy to hear that two people were arrested and we appreciate all the hard work that the detectives put in," said Mike Thompson the victim's brother.

While Nielsen said he could not comment about the motive behind the killing, he said it was not gang-related.

"There’s no good reason for something like this to have happened," Nielsen said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Nielsen credited the help police received from members of the public in moving the investigation forward.

"In this case … we've had a lot of help from the public. A lot of people coming forward as witnesses, which I found was different, and a lot of information which helped us very early on to direct this investigation," Nielsen said.

The two men charged in Thompson’s death are expected to appear in a Toronto court on Tuesday.

News of the arrests was welcomed by staff members at the barbershop where Thompson was killed, though employees were asked not to make public comments.