TORONTO

The hunt is on for a suspected killer after two young men were gunned down outside a social club on the Danforth Wednesday night.

The deadly confrontation unfolded when the victims and a third man met up on the sidewalk in front of the Mediterranean Social Club at 2215 Danforth Ave., a block east of Woodbine Ave. around 8:30 p.m., Toronto Police said.

“There was an argument, a brief skirmish and then shots were fired,” Det.-Sgt. Gary Giroux said Thursday.

Jonathan Stefan Khan, 20, and Shawn Chestnut-Reddick, 22, both suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the chest.

Giroux said the third man, who is now sought as a suspect in the double slaying, was spotted by witnesses running away from the shooting scene eastbound on Danforth and then south on nearby Patricia Ave.

But he’s still trying to determine how the three men knew each other, if at all, and what triggered the violence.

“We’re not sure yet if the suspect was aligned with one of the victims or if he targetted both men,” Giroux said of the city’s 14th and 15th murders of the year.

Some area residents said they heard six to eight gunshots.

A handful of friends left flowers Thursday at a make-shift memorial that is growing outside the social club but Giroux was quick to point out the killings happened outside and had no connection to the establishment.

“The social club is actually under renovations,” he said. “My sense is that these guys may have been coming from opposite directions on the sidewalk.”

Giroux also said a firearm was recovered from underneath one of the murder victims but tests would be needed to determine if the handgun was fired in the incident.

Post-mortem examinations will be conducted Friday on Khan and Chestnut-Reddick, who were both known to police.

And any bullets recovered from the victims’ bodies will be tested to determine the calibre of gun, or guns, used in the double murder.

Meanwhile, investigators are anxious to track down the man who fled the scene. They have collected surveillance video from the area and are appealing for witnesses to come forward and help identify the wanted man.

“He should be considered armed and dangerous,” Giroux said.

The suspect is only vaguely described as a white or light-black man in his early 20s.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting, or who has information regarding this case, should call Giroux at 416-808-7400, x77387, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).