Three sought after man fatally shot in SUV near Jane-Finch
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Bullets were flying in the city Tuesday as one man was killed and three wounded in four separate shootings within 15 hours.
In the lone fatal shooting, Toronto Police say gunfire erupted around 6:15 a.m. as a man and woman sat in an SUV in front of 10 San Romanoway — one of three high rises in an apartment complex near Jane St. and Finch Ave. W.
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“They were approached by a group,” Homicide set. Steve Henkel said in a statement released later in the day.
“The group shot into the car then fled.”
The man suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene. The woman was not hit by the gunfire.
The Toronto man — now identified as Lawrence Errol Joel John, 28 — is the city’s record-high 94th homicide victim of the year.
The North York shooting also marks the 49th gun murder of 2018, which is three shy of Toronto’s record high of 52 set in 2005 during the Year of the Gun.
Police said three black males wearing dark clothing were seen fleeing in a vehicle, possibly in a white hatchback. Area residents were visibly shaken.
Violence was once common on San Romanoway but it appears there hasn’t been a homicide at the high rise complex for about six years.
After the shooting, a black Mazda SUV with the driver’s-side window shot out remained parked near the entrance to the building’s lobby.
About five hours before the deadly shooting, around 1:30 a.m., gunshots rang out in northeast Scarborough, near Crittenden Sq. and Crow Tr. — a residential neighbourhood not far from Markham Rd. and Finch Ave. E.
Const. David Hopkinson said witnesses heard multiple shots fired and emergency personnel found a man suffering bullet wounds.
“The victim was transported by emergency run to hospital,” he said, adding the man’s injuries were believed to be “serious but not life threatening.”
Hopkinson said a grey car was seen fleeing the area and a firearm was found nearby.
Later Tuesday, around 10 a.m., a third man was shot when gunfire erupted on Hocken Ave. — a residential street near Vaughan Rd. and St. Clair Ave. W.
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“I was in my kitchen and I heard about six shots,” recalled an area resident, who asked not to be named.
When he looked outside, the man said he saw a black SUV driving away and a man “hobbling” along the street.
The man claimed to recognize the shooting victim as a local drug dealer whom he often sees on the street.
Hopkinson said the victim was taken to hospital but he did not immediately know the severity of the man’s injuries.
The fourth shooting of the day unfolded just before 4:30 p.m. and barely a kilometre away from where John was executed in the morning.
A man was shot — reportedly in the face — at a high rise near Driftwood Ave. and Niska Rd. He was rushed to a trauma centre but his injuries were not immediately thought to be life-threatening.
Police were questioning one person of interest in the shooting Tuesday afternoon while actively searching the area for two other people who were believed to be armed.
Hopkinson said citizens were urged to stay indoors or to steer clear of the area until officers finished the search..
As of last Friday, there had been 396 shooting occurrences and 559 victims of gun violence in the city so far this year.
Anyone with information regarding the three shootings is urged to call police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
cdoucette@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @SunDoucette
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