

Joshua Freeman, CP24.com





A man who was fatally shot at an apartment building in the Downsview area late Monday night was also the victim of gun violence in January, CP24 has learned.

Multiple shots rang out at the low-rise building on Dorado Court, in the area of Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue, at around 11:20 p.m. Monday night.

“I was awoken to a heavy bang – about four or five bangs in a row. It sounded like heavy metal plates banging down,” one resident told CP24 at the scene.

Toronto police said 51-year-old Martin Anthony Johnson was found in a hallway with gunshot wounds following Monday's shooting and was pronounced dead at the scene.

CP24 has learned that Johnson was previously the victim of a shooting in a building near Weston Road and Gaydon Avenue in the city’s west end on Jan. 13. He sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries in that shooting.

At this point it remains unclear whether Monday's homicide has any connection to the January shooting.

Members of the forensics unit were still at the scene on Tuesday morning, combing for evidence and fingerprinting doorways. A car was later removed from the parking lot by a police tow truck.

The rear of the building has also been sealed off to accommodate an investigation.

“We are asking for the public’s assistance, definitely, to come forward and give us a hand and call the homicide squad,” Insp. Darren Aldritt told CP24 at the scene.

In a news release issued on Tuesday afternoon, police said that they are specifically interested in speaking with anyone who saw or heard anything inside the building at around 11:15 p.m. on Monday. They say that they also want to speak with anyone who can provide information about the movements of Johnson prior to his murder.

“We are asking for the public’s assistance, definitely, to come forward and give us a hand and call the homicide squad,” Insp. Darren Aldritt told CP24 at the scene.

In a news release issued on Tuesday afternoon, police said that they are looking to speak with anyone who saw or heard anything inside the building at around 11:15 p.m. on Monday. They say that they also want to speak with anyone who can provide information about the movements of Johnson prior to his murder.