WARMINGTON: Search on for sloppy assassin in second failed hit attempt at Markham home

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This might be the worst hitman in history.

Or the people who have been shot at this Markham house are the luckiest people in the world.

Perhaps both.

The Toronto Sun has learned that the Lee Avenue residence where this weird assassination attempt on a woman at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday is not new to targeted murder attempts. In fact, on Saturday, June 8, 2024 at 10:30 p.m., a male on the property was shot in what York Regional Police called a “targeted incident.”

The man was taken to hospital but survived. A white sedan fled the scene and the case, say Consts. James Dickson and Lisa Moskaluk, remains unsolved.

Now, eight months later, a second planned shooting murder attempt occurred at the same home but on a different victim — a woman who lives in the home.

The video of the latest shooting has gone viral, with experts shaking their heads. Just call this would-be assassin the Keystone Killer. It’s as if whoever ordered this hit sent Mr. Bean to do it.

Fortunately, all the hitman may have killed was his chance to get away with it. This gun-toting shooter, decked out in a construction vest and hard hat, was a bumbling, bungling fool who looked like he had never shot a gun before — lucky for the marked victim.

As a result, a woman who was duped out of her Markham house by a man pretending to be a construction or road maintenance worker is alive today. She is fortunate because although she was shot, the ineptness of the shooter resulted in her being treated for non-life-threatening wounds.

But there was full intent to fill her full of lead and leave her dead on her driveway.

“She was definitely targeted,” said a police source. “It was a hitman.”

Just not a very good one.

“Not a professional, the way he handled the gun.”

The next question is who sent him there and what was the motive?

“I don’t believe it was random for no reason,” said a police source. “People are not usually that dumb to use their car. It feels like it was a vendetta.”

As amateur as this appeared, it must be said that the suspect was able to lure this woman into the position where he could have killed her.

“The victim exited her home to speak with the suspect and as she was returning to her residence, the suspect shot her,” Dickson said in a statement.

The male shot toward her from behind as she calmly walked on her driveway toward her home. But, as Chris Doucette reported in Thursday’s Toronto Sun, security video shows the idiot with the gun didn’t know how to use it. He managed to get off one shot before it appeared the gun jammed. He tried several times to shoot it but was unsuccessful.

When it didn’t fire. he started to retreat but then stopped and managed to pull the trigger in which the flashes show two more rounds were fired. Police say the woman was struck by one of those shots.

But if those earlier failed attempts to fire bullets had been successful, this likely would have been a homicide. As inept as the gun use was, this was a planned ambush. This would-be killer managed to lure this trusting woman, who clearly didn’t know who he was, into a conversation about something in front of her property. The video shows them talking and walking back and forth as he pointed at the front of the driveway and fence line.

‘MALE, ASIAN, SKINNY BUILD’

“Video recovered from the area shows the suspect arrived in a dark-coloured Audi A4 sedan,” said YRP. “The suspect is described as male, Asian, skinny build, wearing a high-visibility vest, construction helmet, a dark-coloured hooded sweater, black pants and a medical mask.”

The cops have a lot of technology today to utilize. Where he was before and where he went after will not be hard to figure out.

“It was a bad disguise, plus the vehicle easy to identify,” said a veteran detective.

At one point, the video shows the woman produce a piece of paper, which the man appears to sign. All of this is happening in front of a car that he had pulled over on the shoulder.

“Investigators believe the incident is targeted and are appealing to anyone who has not yet spoken to police to please come forward. Additionally, officers are seeking surveillance video or dash cam footage from the area at the time of the shooting,” said YRP. “Anyone with information is asked to contact the York Regional Police #5 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7541, or leave an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or online at 1800222tips.com.”

Several police sources who have investigated many homicides say this was a sloppy effort.

“The intent was clear but a real clumsy, nervous manner and gait,” said one retired detective. “Her and her family background will quickly shed light on this, plus the victim and culprit had a conversation. This should be solved quickly.”

Sleep well, loser. And stay tuned.

jwarmington@postmedia.com