A 32-year-old man is dead and four others were injured after a man opened fire on a patio at a bar near Toronto’s Moss Park neighbourhood on Monday night.
Video surveillance footage released by Toronto police Tuesday shows a masked suspect entering the Libertarian Public House, located near Queen and Sherbourne streets, at around 11:15 p.m. Monday.
The suspect is then seen walking through the bar to the back patio, where he proceeds to open fire at a 32-year-old man, who is sitting at a table with another man.
When the shots start to ring out, the 32-year-old is seen in the video running to hide underneath a nearby table with a group of others who are scrambling to avoid the gunfire.
The suspect is then seen walking toward the victim and standing over him as he continues to shoot the man at close range.
“He’s obviously not in complete control of his firearm. Some stray bullets are ricocheting and striking these other victims,” Det.-Sgt. Hank Idsinga told reporters at a news conference Monday.
When the gunfire stops, the suspect is spotted fleeing through the front of the bar.
Idsinga said witnesses told police that he was last seen walking down Queen Street East before getting into a vehicle.
Some of the victims were transported to hospital via ambulance while others attempted to make it to the hospital on their own.
The 32-year-old man, who police believe was the intended target of the shooting, was pronounced dead in hospital.
Idsinga said the family of the deceased has asked that his name not be released.
Two of the four other people who were shot sustained serious injuries and police said one of the victims remains in hospital.
Detective says there could have been more fatalities:
Idsinga called the deadly incident “callous” and “hard to imagine.”
“This shouldn’t be happening. Innocent people shouldn’t be getting struck by bullets when they are simply out having a drink at a local bar,” he said.
“Knowing the location of some of the wounds, I would say we are very lucky we don’t have three murder victims here.”
He added that people who were in the bar at the time are cooperating with police but asked anyone with information about the deadly incident to contact the Toronto Police Service’s homicide unit or Crime Stoppers.
“I think ultimately we should be able to identify him,” he said.
Mayor urges public to assist police:
Speaking about the incident Tuesday, Mayor John Tory encouraged members of the public to cooperate with the police investigation.
“We have an extraordinary and disturbing video that is out there, put out by the police, from security cameras and now we need the public’s help,” Tory said Tuesday.
“It is beyond comprehension that nobody knows anything about this. We know there are people who know and we hope that they can summon up the courage and realize it’s the right thing to do to come forward.”
