Police are searching for three suspects after a man and a pregnant woman were shot in their beds at an apartment in Rexdale early Tuesday morning.
The shooting occurred at a building on Kipling Avenue, south of Steeles Avenue, shortly before 1:30 a.m.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Supt. Ron Taverner said the three suspects entered the apartment by “unknown means” and shot a 23-year-old man in the leg and hand while he was in bed sleeping. His 20-year-old pregnant girlfriend, who was in bed beside him, sustained a gunshot wound to the chest.
Both victims were taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Police say the woman’s unborn child was not directly injured in the shooting.
Two young children who were in a separate room inside the apartment at the time of the shooting were not injured, Taverner confirmed.
The suspects, according to police, were all wearing disguises during the violent attack.
While the investigation is still in its early stages, Taverner said police believe the incident appears to be gang-related.
“The male victim in this matter was also wanted by police for numerous offences including attempt murder, a home invasion-type robbery and a number of other related crimes,” Taverner said, adding that the man is currently in police custody at the hospital where he is undergoing treatment.
“There are indications that gang members were involved on both sides of this particular investigation… The speculation that we have is that it is a retaliation-type crime but we don’t have anything at this moment to say that.”
Taverner called the shooting “despicable.”
“It is very disturbing that someone is in their home, in bed, and people come in in the middle of the night and perpetrate this type of crime,” he said.
Taverner noted that it is not the first time a pregnant woman has been shot in the area.
Last May, 35-year-old pregnant woman Candice Rochelle Bobb was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Jamestown. Her baby, who was delivered via emergency C-section four months early, did not survive.
“A lot of things could have gone wrong here,” Taverner said of Tuesday’s shooting. “These people could be dead, the children could have been in bed with them. There are a lot of different things that could have happened here. It is disgusting to think that these things happen.”
While there is some video surveillance footage of the incident, police are asking for the public’s assistance to help identify the gunmen.
