Seven people were shot, one fatally, in two separate incidents in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Toronto police say.
The victim who died was identified by police Wednesday evening as Joseph Hart, 50, of Toronto.
Officers were called to the scene of the fatal shooting on Stilecroft Drive in North York just before 5 a.m., police said. When they arrived, the officers found Hart with a gunshot wound to his upper body sitting in a parked vehicle.
He was taken to a trauma centre where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
A dark-coloured vehicle believed to be involved in the incident was seen travelling eastbound on Stilecroft Drive toward Keele Street, police said.
Investigators believe it was a targeted shooting after speaking with several residents in the area, and they are asking for anyone with information to contact police.
Hours earlier, six people were shot in the Little Jamaica neighbourhood, police said. A vehicle pulled up outside a bakery and occupants fired multiple rounds at six people who were gathered in an alcove to seek shelter from the rain.
Supt. Shaun Narine told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that the shooting happened just after 2 a.m at Spence’s Bakery, on Eglinton Avenue West.
Five men and one woman were shot, he said. The victims ranged in age from 30 to 69-years-old.
“Thankfully [for] all the victims their injuries were non-life-threatening,” Narine said.
Five of those victims have already been released from hospital, and one will be released later on Wednesday, he said.
Narine said investigators believe this is a “gang-related and targeted event,” but he also stressed that the bakery itself has no gang affiliation. He also said that some of the people who were shot were just innocent bystanders, and police don’t yet know who the intended target was.
Officers will be on scene today gathering evidence, he said. Police had sealed off a large area and evidence markers were scattered across the ground early Wednesday.
Coun. Josh Matlow called in the shooting “horrifying” in a tweet this morning, adding that gang violence in Toronto needs to be “addressed.”
