Durham Police Charge Ashtoney Thompson, 29, of Oshawa With Eight Counts, Including Discharge Firearm with Intent and Two Counts of Possess Firearm While Prohibited, After a Shooting at a Plaza in the Area of King Street East and Townline Road South (October 5, 2026)
Durham Regional Police say members of East Division responded to an armed person call at a plaza in the area of King Street East and Townline Road South at approximately 2:15 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, 2026, after several reports of a large altercation in the plaza, and that one of the involved individuals then brandished a firearm and began shooting toward the victim. Officers located multiple shell casings. Ashtoney Thompson, 29, of Oshawa is charged with eight counts, among them Discharge Firearm with Intent and two counts of Possess Firearm While Prohibited, and the force says that at the time of his arrest the accused was on conditions not to possess any weapons. No injuries have been reported to police. The release was published on Monday, October 5, four days after the shooting; it does not describe any firearm as recovered or seized, does not identify the victim, and does not say whether any of the other involved persons officers located were arrested or charged. Thompson is presumed innocent.
What the Release Describes
The account is the force’s own. Durham Regional Police say that on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at approximately 2:15 a.m., members of East Division responded to an armed person call at a plaza in the area of King Street East and Townline Road South, and that police received several reports of a large altercation in the plaza before one of the involved individuals brandished a firearm and began shooting toward the victim.
The release says officers arrived on scene and located multiple shell casings. It says a search of the area located several involved persons who fled from police when confronted, and that following a brief foot pursuit one suspect was taken into custody. No injuries have been reported to police.
The release also states that at the time of his arrest the accused was on conditions not to possess any weapons. Two of the eight counts are Possess Firearm While Prohibited.
The Eight Counts
Durham Regional Police word the charge list as follows: Possess Firearm – No Licence, Possess Firearm While Prohibited x2, Possess Prohibited Device, Possess Loaded Firearm, Discharge Firearm with Intent, Breach Probation, and Fail to Comply with Release Order. That is eight counts in all: one, plus two, plus one, plus one, plus one, plus one, plus one. He was held for a bail hearing.
Each of those is an allegation. Possess Loaded Firearm and Possess Prohibited Device are counts, and the release does not describe a firearm or a device as having been recovered or seized; what it reports officers finding at the scene is multiple shell casings. Discharge Firearm with Intent is the force’s allegation and has not been tested in court.
Oshawa in the Headline, Clarington in the First Line
The release is headlined “Male Arrested Following Shooting in Oshawa.” Its first line reads: “A male is facing charges following a shooting in a public plaza in Clarington.” The accused is described as being from Oshawa; the plaza is placed in Clarington, in the area of King Street East and Townline Road South. The discrepancy between the headline and the body is recorded here rather than resolved, and no source available this run settles it.
What the Release Does Not State
- Any firearm: no firearm is described as recovered or seized, and no make, type, calibre or number is given.
- The victim: not identified, and the release says only that no injuries have been reported to police.
- The other involved persons: the release says a search of the area located several involved persons who fled from police when confronted, and that one suspect was taken into custody; it does not say whether any of the others were arrested or charged.
- The arresting officers: the release does not say which officers took the suspect into custody.
- What the altercation was about: not stated.
- Occurrence number: none published.
- Court date: none published beyond the statement that he was held for a bail hearing.
- Organization: the release names no criminal organization, street gang or outlaw motorcycle club.
Timeline
- THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2026, APPROXIMATELY 2:15 A.M.Members of East Division respond to an armed person call at a plaza in the area of King Street East and Townline Road South. Police receive several reports of a large altercation in the plaza.
- BEFORE THE SHOOTINGThe force says police received those reports of a large altercation before one of the involved individuals brandished a firearm and began shooting toward the victim.
- ON SCENEOfficers arrive and locate multiple shell casings. A search of the area locates several involved persons who flee from police when confronted. One suspect is taken into custody following a brief foot pursuit.
- AT THE TIME OF ARRESTThe force says the accused was on conditions not to possess any weapons.
- MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2026Durham Regional Police publish the release, naming Ashtoney Thompson, 29, of Oshawa and listing eight counts. He was held for a bail hearing.
Members of East Division responded to the armed person call. The release says “officers” located the shell casings and does not say which officers made the arrest.
Det. Shields is the contact named in the release for anyone with cell phone, dash cam or surveillance footage or information.
Named in the release as the route for anonymous information.
Sources
- Durham Regional Police Service, “Male Arrested Following Shooting in Oshawa,” October 5, 2026 — establishes the date and time of the incident, the location, the force’s account of the altercation and the shooting, the eight counts as worded, the statement that the accused was on conditions not to possess any weapons, the absence of reported injuries and the custody status — drps.ca
Ashtoney Thompson has not been tried on any of these counts and is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Every allegation here is the Durham Regional Police Service’s, and the charge wording is the force’s own. The force names no criminal organization, street gang, outlaw motorcycle club or cartel in this file, and none is used here. A search for outlet coverage made during this run returned no account of the incident, so the force’s release is the source for the allegations. The plaza is in Clarington, which sits in Durham Region inside the Greater Toronto Area, where shootings are on this beat regardless of any stated organized-crime nexus; two of the counts also allege possession of a firearm while prohibited. The release mentions no publication ban.