Man, 69, shot dead in 'targeted' North York shooting: Cops

Article content

A 69-year-old man shot dead outside a North York home was believed to be targeted, according to police.

Det.-Sgt. Aaron Akeson, of 13 Division on Eglinton Ave. W., confirmed that Mariano De-Marco, 69, was the city’s 82nd homicide victim of the year. It was the second fatal shooting in the city in less than nine hours.

“I believe that this shooting was targeted,” said Akeson. “The reason for that, I can’t elaborate on it at this point.”

Akeson said the victim was spotted lying on the driveway of a home east of the Allen Rd.-Lawrence Ave. E. area by a parking enforcement officer doing their rounds at about 4 a.m.

“This parking officer came across this male with no vital signs. And it was apparent he was suffering from a gunshot wound,” said Akeson.

When asked by the Toronto Sun if De-Marco was a landlord renting out rooms and space inside the home, Akeson said he would not comment on that information.

A large section of the street was cordoned off by police throughout the morning as forensic officers recovered evidence, searched the street for home video cameras and removed a black Dodge minivan from the driveway of the large two-storey, red-brick home with a double garage.

Gicelly Rossetto stood in the icy rain while shielding her face on Fairholme Ave., staring down the street at the police and the home where she rents a basement apartment.

“I’m still in shock,” said Rossetto, who has lived at the home for the last six years as a tenant. “He has helped me out over the years.”

She said everybody who lives at the home knew De-Marco by the nickname “Max” and that he lived at the residence.

Rossetto said she didn’t hear anything like gunfire, but did hear another basement tenant either banging on her one-bedroom door at the rear of the house or slamming another door in the house to get upstairs at about 2 a.m. or 3 a.m.

“He was calling him (on his phone) and he wouldn’t answer,” said Rossetto. “(It was) because he’d seen a dead body (on the driveway.)”

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

Unsure what to do because she said she was in shock, Rossetto finally ventured out of the house after a few attempts “to clear her mind” and see what was going on around 5 a.m. She said she saw the police in the driveway and something under a tarp beside a black Dodge minivan in the driveway as police hovered around it.

“I didn’t see any blood,” said Rossetto. “I saw the tarp over him. Then I saw somebody taking off the tarp and I could tell it was Max.”

Rossetto said she believes her friend owned multiple properties in Toronto and one in London, Ont.

Anyone with information is asked to contact 416-808-1300 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

The other fatal shooting happened on Sunday at about 7 p.m. in the Jones Ave.-Hunter St. area, just south of Danforth Ave., leaving a 34-year-old woman dead. She was identified by police as Alisha Brooks.

Aaron Shea, 33, was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder.