Two wounded in Scarborough drive-by shooting after nearby deadly stabbing

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A man was stabbed to death in Scarborough over the noon-hour Friday and two people were injured in a nearby drive-by shooting two hours later.

But Toronto Police maintain the two violent incidents were not connected even though they occurred blocks apart.

The stabbing unfolded near Bellamy Rd. N. and Lawrence Ave. E. – just west of Cedarbrae Mall – just after 12:30 p.m.

Officers arrived at the scene to find a man suffering from life-threatening injuries.

The victim was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The identity of the dead man, believed to be the city’s 28^th murder victim of the year, has not been released and few details were immediately available.

“The investigation is still in its infancy,” Insp. Maher Abdel-Malik told reporters Friday night.

Two hours after the stabbing – around 2:40 p.m. – several areas of the same neighbourhood came under fire.

Abdel-Malik said gunshots were fired from a vehicle and three victims were “targeted” in three separate vehicles in the incident that began near McCowan Rd. and Lawrence Ave. E., spreading north to Ellesmere Rd., then east to Bellamy Rd. before it ended.

A man and a woman were rushed to hospital – one in life-threatening condition and the other in serious condition.

Multiple crime scenes were cordoned off by police.

One scene was on McCowan just north of Lawrence, near Scarborough General Hospital, where a red Nissan SUV with a bullet hole in its windshield could be seen.

At another scene on Ellesmere just east of McCowan, a white Audi Q5 SUV had bullet holes in its driver’s side front and rear windows. A bullet hole was also visible in the night deposit box of a nearby BMO branch.

And at a third scene there was another section of Ellesmere blocked off, just west of Bellamy, where a silver car was surrounded by police vehicles.

Abdel-Malik said the gunshots were all fired from the same vehicle but it was unknown how many occupants were inside.

The suspect vehicle is a black 2019 Land Rover with Ontario licence plate CWKK 869.

Anyone who spots the SUV in question is urged to steer clear and call 911 immediately.

Both investigations are ongoing.

– With files by Jack Boland

cdoucette@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @sundoucette