3 suspects wanted after tow truck driver shot at in Ajax

A Durham Regional Police car is shown at a Bowmanville, Ont. shopping centre parking lot on Tuesday Feb. 28, 2023. (Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives)

Police are looking for three suspects after a man was shot at while sitting inside his tow truck in Ajax over the weekend.

The incident happened on March 1 near Bayly Street West and Mackenzie Avenue, just east of Westney Road South.

Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) said at about 5:20 p.m. they responded to reports of gunshots at a business in that area.

At the scene, officers found a male who had been shot at while sitting in his tow truck. He did not sustain any injuries, they said.

The first suspect is described as a white male last seen wearing a grey hoodie and black pants.

The second suspect is only described by police as wearing a black mask and black hoodie.

No descriptive details are available for the third wanted person.

Anyone with cell phone, dashcam, surveillance footage or information is asked to contact Det. Smith of DRPS’s West Division Criminal Investigations Branch at 1-888-579-1520, ext. 1905, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

2 shootings linked to Toronto tow truck industry on Tuesday night

This incident occurred just days before two separate shootings in Toronto that are believed to be linked to the tow truck industry.

On Tuesday, at around 10:22 p.m., two people were reportedly shot at a tow yard in the city’s west end, near Weston Road and St. Clair Avenue West.

One of the victims, a man in his 50s, suffered life-threatening injuries, while the second, a man in his 20s, was seriously injured, but is expected to survive, police said.

The suspect fled the area in a dark-coloured sedan.

About an hour later, a tow truck driver, identified by police as a man in his 20s, was shot at a gas station near Lawrence Avenue East and Warden Avenue in Scarborough.

The driver was transported to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect, police said, fled in a vehicle.

In an email to CP24, Toronto police said it is too early to tell if these incidents are connected.

With files from CP24’s Codi Wilson