An 18-year-old man killed in Scarborough earlier this month was shot in a parking lot by someone he didn’t know and after a verbal interaction that didn’t last more than a minute, Toronto police say.

Elliott Reid-Doyle, 18, was shot on Oct. 3 just before 2 p.m., in a strip plaza at Birchmount Rd. and Bonis Ave., near Sheppard Ave., in Scarborough. He was found with life-threatening injuries, and later died at hospital.

The shooting took place in the parking lot in front of a pizza shop known as a common hangout spot for area high school students.

Surveillance video showed that there was a verbal interaction between the victim and the suspect in the parking lot, police said. The suspect then pulls out the gun and fires at the victim.

Police released images from the surveillance video on Friday in an effort to identify the suspect.

“I urge the suspect in this case to contact a lawyer and turn yourself in,” homicide Det. Leslie Dunkley told reporters. “It’s just a matter of time before we locate you.”

Police described the suspect as between 18 and 23 years old, 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-2, slim build, black hair in cornrows tied at the back, and was wearing a dark coloured track suit.

Dunkley said he doesn’t believe the suspect and the victim knew each other prior to the incident, and that the shooting was a result of the interaction that didn’t last more than a minute.

He said the victim’s family is very distraught and hoping for justice.

Dunkley said there’s concern anytime someone has a gun in Toronto and that the shooting happened in broad daylight.

“We know that there are a number of high schools in the vicinity,” Dunkley said. “It would have been lunch time at that particular time. So that does raise concern with us. The fact that someone is brandishing a firearm and was willing to use it . . . he’s brazen and he’s not afraid to use a firearm regardless of location, time of day or vicinity.”

Dunkley said the suspect is considered armed and dangerous. He warned the public not to approach him. He said the suspect will most likely face a first-degree murder charge.

Two nearby high schools were placed on lockdown immediately after the shooting, with students unable to leave for three hours.

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