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Two videos obtained by CTV News Toronto show moments around the time of the shooting leading up to when a stray bullet killing a 44-year-old woman in Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood.
It happened Friday during the lunch hour on Queen Street East near Carlaw Avenue. The victim is Caroline Huebner-Makurat, a mother of two daughters, ages seven and four.
One of the videos shared with CTV News Toronto is from the cellphone of a man who works in the area, whose identity is being protected due to safety concerns.
The video shows a struggle between three men. One person is seen in the footage hitting the other on the head with a firearm before gunfire erupts.
“I hear four shots ring out and the one guy that was getting beat with the gun originally, which I didn’t know had a gun, I witnessed him with a gun in his hand and he was coming right at me. That’s when I turn away," he said.
After the shots are fired, there is an eerie silence. One of the men from the fight is seen casually walking away east on Queen Street East.
“Right after they all split, I looked across the street, and see a few people looking down at a woman who was laying on the street, so I went over to see if I could help in some way, she was gasping for breath,” said the man who filmed the video.
“Knowing what just happened, I figured she’s shot in the back … I think I saw her take her last, because she wasn’t breathing and then the ambulance came.”
“My heart goes out to the family. All I kept thinking about … is the kids, the husband, so it’s pretty sad.”
Toronto police have released images of three suspects wanted in connection with the shooting.
Officers reaffirmed that three men got into an altercation that night and that two of them fired a gun at one another. They’re hoping the public will help identify them. The men should be considered armed and dangerous, police said.
A second video obtained by CTV News Toronto was captured by a nearby store’s security cameras. It shows a dog making a sudden turn on the sidewalk before two people duck for cover by a vehicle.
A separate angle from inside the store shows two workers staring out the window then moving to hide.
“I was downstairs doing some work and I heard the four shots, and I came up the stairs and we looked out the window a noticed a guy with a gun in his hand,” explained the worker.
“He was walking casually, he wasn’t in any big hurry. He put his gun in his waistband, covered in his shirt and continued walking.”
The worker, who CTV News Toronto has also agreed not to identify, said he called police before stepping outside and following the suspect. He said the suspect went up Boston Avenue before he lost sight of him.
“I was on the line with the police and I maybe thought they should just know what this guy was going. I put my ear buds in so it just looked like a guy who was walking down the street.”
“I’ve heard of gun violence but I never heard of it this close,” he said. “I guess it’s not surprising.”
A GoFundMe page has raised close to $200,000 to support the family’s well-being.
