Video shows suspects spraying a North York plaza with bullets

CITYnews halifax / By Denio Lourenco

Toronto police are on the hunt for three suspects who are wanted in connection with a fatal shooting that killed a 21-year-old university student.

Officers say a vehicle with three people inside entered a plaza near Sheppard Avenue West and Weston Road on August 27, around midnight.

“The suspect driver remained in the driver’s seat as two shooters exited the vehicle and fired numerous rounds indiscriminately in the direction of the parking lot,” said Detective Sergeant Brandon Price of the Toronto police’s homicide unit.

“Numerous people were in the lot at that time,” he explained. “The plaza goers scrambled to take cover, and several vehicles and businesses were struck by the gunfire.”

Price says dozens of people were in the area at the time of the shooting, including 21-year-old Arslan Ahmad of Brampton who was shot in the far east corner of the parking lot.

Ahmad was transported to hospital and treated for his injuries, but ultimately passed away on September 2.

Another individual was also injured by the gunfire, but sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Price says the two shooters returned to the waiting vehicle, which was last seen travelling southbound on Weston Road at a high rate of speed.

According to investigators, Ahmad was in the area visiting a friend and enjoying the last days of summer. The pair were buying some items from a business in the plaza and got caught up in the gunfire.

“This was a cowardly act,” Detective Sergeant Brandon Price told reporters on Saturday. “Many of those businesses were still open and operating, so it was very busy at the time.”

The first suspect is described as having a thin build, and was last seen wearing dark pants, dark shoes, a dark hoodie and a face mask.

The second suspect is described as having a thin build, slightly taller than the first suspect and was last seen wearing a grey hoodie, dark pants, dark shoes and a face mask.

There is no description of the third suspect who remained in the vehicle, but the car is described as a newer model Toyota RAV4 with a white body and a black roof. The car also had black rims, tinted windows, and it was believed to have a personalized license plate.

“We would ask citizens to turn their mind back to August 27 in this area, at that time, if they were in this area, and they have camera footage from their vehicles […] to review that and see if there’s any vehicle captured on it and provide that to the police,” Price added.

On Saturday, police released surveillance footage of the incident. Two individuals are seen in the video firing handguns for a a few seconds before running out of frame.