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A Brampton man convicted in connection with a deadly mass shooting at a Moss Park bus stop has received a prison sentence of 10 years and nine months. Nathan Bell, now 40, was found guilty of discharging a firearm with intent to wound and of breaching three separate weapons prohibition orders. The sentencing follows a six-week jury trial in which Bell faced far more serious charges, including first-degree murder.
Acquittal on Murder Charges, Conviction on Lesser Offence
On May 22, a jury acquitted Bell of first-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Kyle Provo. The jury also cleared Bell on two counts of attempted murder and returned a not guilty verdict on a third attempted murder count. However, jurors convicted him on the lesser charge of discharging a firearm with intent to wound. Bell later pleaded guilty to three counts of violating court-imposed weapons prohibition orders at his sentencing hearing.
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Justice Philip Campbell, who presided over the case, said it was likely the jury rejected Bell’s self-defence claim. Campbell suggested jurors probably concluded Bell shot with intent to wound rather than kill, and doubted he formed the subjective intent required for a murder conviction.
The Night of the Shooting
In the early morning hours of September 16, 2023, Bell and his friend Richard Baker travelled by Uber from Brampton to the intersection of Sherbourne and Dundas streets in Toronto. Baker’s brother joined them there. The three men approached a bus stop where a group had gathered after a social event in a nearby park.
At approximately 2:45 a.m., gunfire broke out. At trial, Bell testified he had gone to the bus stop to ask whether anyone could sell him marijuana. No witness corroborated that claim. Justice Campbell noted in his judgment that the exact cause of the confrontation remained unclear, but that evidence pointed to “an antagonistic verbal exchange about property or robbery or both.”
Before the shooting began, a man named Omer Gedo rose from the group and walked toward the three arrivals with what Campbell described as a side-to-side “waddling gait.” Evidence showed Gedo carried an elongated object and later had a hatchet or small axe in the front pocket of his hoodie. Gedo and Baker moved close to each other near a fence on the east side of the sidewalk. Seconds later, shots rang out.
Surveillance footage captured the entire shooting over approximately 34 seconds. Four people suffered gunshot wounds. Gedo was shot five times. Two bystanders were also hit. Provo, who was running southward, was shot once in the back of the head and died from his injuries. Bell, Baker and Baker’s brother fled the scene. Police arrested Bell and Baker one week later.
Sentencing and Criminal History
Justice Campbell described the incident as “a bloodbath” and called for a firm sentence to deter gun violence. He pointed to Bell’s extensive criminal record, which includes 43 offences dating back to 2005, among them firearms offences, robberies and assaults. In 2017, Bell received a 35-month penitentiary sentence for manslaughter, after receiving 31 months of credit for pretrial custody.
“This late-night public shooting, in a crowded setting, by a man who carries an illegal firearm as a matter of routine, in defiance of the law and court orders, requires a stern sentence, at the upper bound of the appropriate range,” Campbell stated in court.
After enhanced credit for pretrial custody, Bell has approximately six years and five months remaining to serve. The court also imposed a lifetime weapons prohibition order on him.
Remorse Expressed, Future Uncertain
During his allocution, Bell expressed remorse for the harm caused to the four shooting victims. Campbell noted Bell acknowledged he would “have to let the guns go” and vowed there would be “no more guns for me.” The judge quoted Bell directly, adding Bell’s own words: “It definitely is not worth it.”
Campbell acknowledged Bell’s personal circumstances, noting he has a mother, sister and extended family who care for him, as well as what the judge described as a winning personality and agile intelligence. The judge said he did not want his sentencing remarks to be read as a permanent judgment on Bell’s character.
“I would not want my reasons to be understood as sending Mr. Bell to prison with a judicial stamp of incorrigibility on him. There are enigmatic aspects to his history and character, and I find myself genuinely wondering what his future may hold,” Campbell said before Bell left the courtroom to begin his sentence.
Bell’s co-accused, Richard Baker, faces a separate trial scheduled for next year on first-degree murder and attempted murder charges stemming from the same Moss Park shooting.
