

Joshua Freeman and Codi Wilson, CP24.com





A man in his 50s is dead after being shot multiple times at a strip mall in Etobicoke Monday afternoon.

The shooting took place in broad daylight in the area of The Queensway and North Queen Street shortly before 1 p.m.

Eric Macdonald, who was eating at a nearby restaurant at the time of the shooting told CP24 that he witnessed two volleys of shots.

“The first time I heard the shots and I didn’t realize what was happening and then I saw probably another three shots after that,” he said. “So then he (the suspect) took off in a direction obviously looking for his getaway vehicle and jumped in that and went out onto North Queen and took off.”

The male victim was found on the sidewalk outside of the UPS Store. He was rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition, but later succumbed to his injuries.

“It appears that it was targeted,” Det. Henri Marsman told CP24. “It was certainly crowded at that time and there are a lot of people that would have left before police arrived and those are the people we’re trying to appeal to to come and speak to us.”

Police have not released a description of the suspects but confirmed that at least one person fled the scene in a vehicle.

“The suspects left in a vehicle. I’m not going to disclose what type of vehicle it is at this point or the number of suspects,” Marsman said.

Yellow police tape cordoned off the plaza late Monday, with bullet holes visible in the UPS Store and at least a dozen evidence markers on the ground.

Marsman said the plaza, which is located across from Sherway Gardens, would have been busy at the time of the shooting and he urged anyone with information to come forward.

The shooting marks Toronto’s 61st homicide of 2019.