But Starkovski's events have had more than enough problems over the years and have arguably done more damage to the reputation of Exhibition Place. In addition to the official OVO Fest afterparty hosted by Drake that has ended in shootings two years in a row, there was a shooting after an event at Muzik in February 2013 that left a 19-year-old man dead outside the club. And that's not to mention the time Toronto's ex-mayor was seen doing lines of blow in Muzik's washroom.
(Starkovski is friends with Toronto's former crack-smoking mayor and current city councillor Rob Ford—though he's denied it at times. The Toronto Star reported in May 2014 "that Zlatko Starkovski has told staff at the club that 'Rob Ford is our best customer. His money is no good here.'" Muzik has also supplied Ford's FordFest parties with booze in the past.)
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"How many more have to die before we finally accept these EDM events cannot be held on government lands or anywhere else?" Mammoliti was quoted saying in the Toronto Sun in August 2014, months after the ban had been lifted. His statement was made following the drug-related deaths of a two young people at VELD festival the first weekend of August 2014 in Downsview Park, Toronto. The two victims were 20 and 22 years old—close to the ages of those shot and killed at the most recent violent crime related to Muzik, 23 and 26.
But the big difference here is that those who take drugs at any sort of party have usually made the personal choice to engage in an activity that has risks—it just comes with the territory. Around 3:20 AM Tuesday of this week, 26-year-old Ariela Navarro-Fenoy did not choose to become a victim of gun violence. She was an innocent bystander who had made every effort to get into a cab to escape the gunfire-laden scene that had broken out at Muzik (a cabbie refused to give her a ride since her short-distance trip would have only made him $8).
The other victim that was killed Tuesday following Drake's afterparty at Muzik was Duvel Hibbert, 23, who had been awaiting trial on drug charges in both Toronto and Brampton, Ontario. He was set to appear in court this week for the Toronto charges, including possession and trafficking of cocaine. Three others were injured in the shooting.
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Muzik has had more than
12 lawsuits filed against it since 2007, many related to it being the site of acts of violence. One statement of claim from a lawsuit reads: "The defendants... knew or ought to have known that this after-party would cause or foster an environment of unusual danger... knowing that Muzik Nightclub has a history of violence, and failed to implement proper security measures."
Mammoliti and Ford did not respond VICE's requests for comment about the series of events that happened at Muzik and Exhibition Place this week. Drake has also yet to put out a public statement responding to the shootings.
