Police say a 35-year-old man was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time when he was gunned down in the doorway of a North York apartment this past February.
During a news conference on Monday morning, Det. Rob North released security video of three suspects who investigators believe shot and killed 35-year-old Dameion McFarland at a highrise in the area of Jane Street and Yewtree Boulevard on Feb. 1.
The footage shows one suspect entering an apartment building located at 2999 Jane St. before heading to another door to let two other suspects inside.
Once the men gained access to the building, the video shows the three masked suspects walking up a back stairwell to the seventh floor.
When McFarland heard the suspects outside the unit, he was shot before he could fully open the door, North said.
The security video shows the three suspects running down a stairwell and fleeing the building following the shooting. One of the suspects appeared to be carrying a shotgun with green tape on the handle.
While police believe one of the males inside the apartment was targeted, North said investigators are confident McFarland was a “completely innocent victim.”
“I’m not even confident the suspects knew or did not know who they were shooting,” North said.
The detective described McFarland as a “hard-working” man who had plans to leave the country the very next day.
“He was not supposed to be there that night,” North added.
The motive for the shooting is still not known and North said at this point, police do not have any evidence to suggest it was gang-related.
North said investigators have interviewed some of the people who were in the apartment that night but one person declined to speak with police.
“I would like to have that individual who refused to be interviewed come in and speak with us so we could fully understand why they may have been a target. That has not yet happened yet,” North said.
Police have released the security camera footage of the suspects in hopes that a member of the public can identify them.
Although the suspects were masked at the time of the shooting, North said some of them were wearing “distinct clothing.”
“There may be somebody out there that recognizes their walk, their mannerisms,” he noted.
“I’m hoping that somebody in the community has heard about this. People talk.”
North said McFarland’s family is still struggling to understand why he was shot.
“They have a family member that has been cowardly murdered in our city for no other reason than he answered a door,” North said. “Just like us, they want answers.”
