Jeremiah Ranger, who turned 15 this month, loaded into the back seat of a white SUV, likely an Audi, with another boy Sunday evening, not far from his home in northwest Toronto.

A phone call had come for him just before, perhaps the reason for leaving his mother and heading out, dressed for the weather.

Security footage taken from an overhead CCTV camera at 1884 Sheppard Avenue West shows two boys enter the back right door of the SUV. One is seen alone, walking up to the car as it pulls to a stop. He enters first, and then the second boy appears in the video and gets in.

What was said in the car, and what happened next is the subject of a homicide investigation, No. 24 for 2020 — ahead of last year’s pace despite the physical distancing demanded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the video, the SUV door never fully closes and, six seconds after both boys are inside, one then the other bolt from the vehicle. The first sprints out of frame, then the second, Ranger, tumbles to the asphalt before gettin up and taking off around a dumpster. The driver’s door opens briefly, then closes and the SUV is driven away.

Ranger was hit in the left buttock and hip area by a single bullet fired inside the SUV, Det. Sgt. Henri Marsman told reporters outside 31 Division on Monday.

The boy made it maybe 20 metres and collapsed in a parking lot. He lost a lot of blood, was rushed to hospital and died.

Police are appealing for witnesses and anyone with home security or dashcam footage from 5:40 to 5:50 p.m. to come forward. They can do so by calling the homicide squad at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), visiting online at www.222tips.com, on on the service’s Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).

A second portion of the video released by police shows the same vehicle driving past a home camera. It is neither speeding nor going too slow.

“It’s tragic to see a young life cut short. The young man just celebrated his 15th birthday,” said Marsman, who would not speculate on why the shooting took place or speak to what police already know.

He said police have spoken to the other boy, and that Jeremiah’s mother would like those responsible — police believe there were at least two people in the vehicle — to turn themselves in for questioning.

Police do not have any information suggesting Jeremiah or the other youth who entered the car were armed, Marsman said.

While many types of crimes have decreased since people were ordered to stay home for all but essential trips, gun violence and killing has not slowed; Toronto’s 24th homicide of 2019 came in May.

Community workers and youth advocates have been sounding alarm bells since a March Break led to weeks of no school and support services for families and young people either on hold or operating virtually, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Louis March, the founder of Zero Gun Violence, has been watching the violence and notes there is “no pause button.” Young people who were already at risk are at a greater risk, said March, who on Monday was on a Zoom call with about 30 other people and groups advocating for better supports for youth.

He had no knowledge of what happened Sunday, but said he had been hearing previously that the street “hustle” must go on. A lot of attention has rightly focused on the state of our long-term care homes during the pandemic, said March, but not nearly anything for vulnerable young people.

“They should have made youth services an essential service,” he said.