Woman fatally shot at halfway house was the 'light of many lives,' mother says

A 34-year-old woman fatally shot in a halfway house in Toronto on the weekend is being remembered as the "light of many lives" by her loved ones.

Alisha Brooks was the "most vibrant, outspoken and welcoming person in any and every room," her mother Veronica Brooks said in a statement on a GoFundMe page published Tuesday.

"She lit up the room with her laugh alone! Whether it was a party or a one on one conversation, she made you feel seen and brought a smile to your face," Veronica Brooks said, adding "her friends and family will miss her every second of every day."

"Alisha worked so hard for all those she helped at work, from youth to new refugees. Alisha was a vital member of her community. Her family and her daughter will struggle immensely in her absence."

Brooks was found with gunshot wounds outside a home in the area of Jones Avenue and Hunter Street on Sunday evening. Toronto police had been called to the home shortly after 7 p.m. She was taken to hospital, where she died a short time later. She is the city's 81st homicide victim of the year.

Accused was on statutory release: correctional service

A 33-year-old man was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder in her death. A firearm was also recovered, according to police.

Police said on Tuesday that the suspect and victim were in a domestic relationship.

The accused was on statutory release from prison, serving the last third of a three-year sentence for charges including assault, breaking and entering and possession of a weapon contrary to a prohibition order, according to the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC).

Brooks was a housing worker at Delta Family Resource Centre, a non-profit agency that delivers services to communities in northwest Toronto.

In a statement on Tuesday, the organization said Brooks worked in several departments, "always bringing her passion, willingness to help and commitment to children in care and, more recently, to refugees, to all that she did."  

"Her vivacity, her outgoing 'larger-than-life' personality are part of Delta Family's DNA — and she will be missed by her clients, colleagues and the board. Rest peacefully, Alisha," the agency said.

Angela Robertson, executive director of the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Care Centre, said Brooks was an outreach worker for two years at the centre in its CHEERS (Creating Hope Ensuring Excellence and Roads to Success) program, a mentorship program for Black youth transitioning out of the child welfare system. 

'Such a shock'

Robertson said the best word to describe Brooks was "effervescence."

"She was quite dynamic in her ability to engage young people who had shared similar experience as her, but also somebody who brought lots of hopefulness for those young people as she had lived through that experience," Robertson said.

"And she was always eager to tell folks that they can make it through struggle. This is why it is such a shock because she has traced her own struggle. So to see this as how she has been taken away from us, it's punishing."

Robertson said her death has left her colleagues in shock and disbelief.

"Folks just can't believe that someone so alive isn't here."

In an email Tuesday, CSC did not confirm the accused lived at the community residential facility — more commonly known as a halfway house — but did say the shooting happened at the home.

Halfway houses are typically facilities or residences where criminal offenders stay under supervision while they try to re-integrate into the community.

"While it is not common for such an incident to occur at a Community Residential Facility, it is a serious and tragic incident and it is important that it be thoroughly reviewed to fully examine the circumstances around what happened," a CSC spokesperson said.

"To this end, CSC has launched an investigation and will not hesitate to implement any measures, as determined necessary, to further enhance public safety."

Statutory release, which is mandated by law, means that some federal offenders serve the last third of a fixed-length sentence while living in a community under the supervision of the CSC. The CSC spokesperson said statutory release is part of the agency's effort to "safely reintegrate" offenders.