

Chris Fox, CP24.com





A man who was shot outside a Danforth Avenue cafe early Tuesday morning asked for help before he succumbed to his injuries, the owner says.

Rotana Cafe owner Hussein Souddo told CP24 that after speaking to his manager and employees, who witnessed the incident, he learned about some of the events that took place before the fatal shooting.

The victim was shot in the doorway of the Rotana Cafe on Danforth Avenue east of Coxwell Avenue at around 1:30 a.m. and was rushed to St. Michael's Hospital in life-threatening condition, where he died a short time later.

“(The victim) asked for help and he fell. That’s what the manager told me," Souddo said, adding that he believes the altercation started in a parking lot across the street and carried over to the cafe.

“People didn’t hear if there were any shots before but when it got closer to us, (the bullet) hit the glass and the customers ran," he said.

According to Det. Jeff Allington, multiple shots were fired though it is not clear how many struck the victim.

Allington said he believes a suspect or suspects fled the scene on foot and then got into a vehicle on nearby Rhodes Avenue and drove away.

There were a number of people outside the restaurant at the time, however Allington said none of those witnesses are cooperating with their investigation.

As part of their investigation, police are urging anyone who witnessed the shooting or who is in possession of surveillance camera footage from the area to come forward.

“At this point we do have some information on a vehicle but nothing on a person, however we do know that there was a large amount of people in and around the area of the restaurant and I am asking them to come forward,” Allington told reporters at the scene Tuesday morning.

The victim has not been identified and police are yet to notify his next-of-kin.

Police say it is too early to tell if the victim was the intended target but police are investigating if the man had any ties to criminal activity.

Speaking with CP24 on Tuesday, one woman who lives nearby said she heard “a lot of yelling and screaming” coming from outside the restaurant and then six successive shots.

“The police showed up so fast I didn’t know what was going on except I heard the six shots and knew it wasn’t firecrackers,” the woman said.

Danforth Avenue was closed throughout the night and early afternoon from Coxwell to Monarch Park avenues as police continue to investigate. The road has since reopened.

It is not the first time the Danforth Avenue establishment has been the scene of a violent attack.

Dominic Parker, a 45-year-old off-duty firefighter, was fatally wounded after being stabbed multiple times in the head at the Rotana Cafe in September 2013. Police previously said Parker was attacked without provocation. The accused in the case is believed to have suffered from mental health issues.

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