Victim identified in deadly Scarborough shooting

A large area in Scarborough has been cordoned off after a man was fatally shot. Beth MacDonell has more on the investigation.

A 33-year-old man from Toronto is the victim of a deadly shooting in southeast Scarborough on Monday night, say police.

Jordan Thompson is Toronto’s 15th homicide victim of the year.

Earlier today, Toronto police said investigators believe this fatal shooting was targeted.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Det. Rodney Benson, of the Homicide and Missing Persons Unit, said there was an altercation involving the victim and at least one person in the parking lot of a plaza near Cedar Drive and Eglinton Avenue East.

Police said when officers arrived, they found a male suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound on the sidewalk a few metres down the road.

The victim was transported to a local trauma centre, where he was later pronounced deceased, they said.

Benson, who did not identify the victim as police were in the process of notifying next of kin, said the man who died was from the neighbourhood.

One homeowner told CTV News Toronto that the man who died was found on the ground near a tree in front of his house and was surrounded by people.

“His hands like shaking and he was turned around here. I didn’t even think that someone shot him,” said the homeowner, who lives a few doors down from the plaza where the shooting is believed to have occurred.

A man visiting the plaza sais he heard a single gun shot.

“So I stay(ed) inside only and didn’t come out because the noise was weird, and after a while the people were running here and there and then all of a sudden everything calmed,” he said.

People in the community say they’re sad and concerned about what has happened.

“It’s a bad corner because a lot of heat goes around there,” one woman said.

“I don’t know what is going on that side there. I see police cars going by a lot.”

The homeowner from earlier told CTV News Toronto that he doesn’t feel comfortable going to that Tim Horton’s in person, instead he said he uses the drive-thru to grab his coffee and leaves right away.

In a news release, police said they’re looking for “multiple suspects,” who fled the area. No further details about the suspects has been released at this point.

“It’s early in the investigation for us to make any determinations about the sequence of events,” the detective said.

It appears that a big focus of the investigation is around the drive-thru menu area, where police have placed several evidence markers.

They also spent hours today collecting video footage, take photos, and going through the trash, putting items of note in bags.

And while investigators say the shooting was targeted, Benson said they don’t have evidence that suggests the shooting is linked to the ongoing tow truck turf war.

Last week, police announced arrests in a wave of gun violence related to the tow truck industry, as well as a mass shooting at Scarborough’s Piper Arms pub in March.

“We believe that there were a number of people who were in the area of this plaza at the time of the events that unfolded last night, and we’re asking for anyone who was here to come forward and provide us with whatever information they can,” he said.

Toronto police are asking anyone who may have video or dashcam footage of the area or incident, or anyone who witnessed this latest shooting, to contact them at 416-808-4300 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Beth Macdonell