A 26-year-old Toronto man died of his injures and woman was wounded in a targeted shooting outside a home in Newmarket on Friday night, York Regional Police say.
Staff Sgt. Aaron Busby said officers were called to Colter Street, southwest of Yonge Street and Mulock Drive, at 9 p.m. for a report of gunshots fired.
They arrived to find a man critically injured by gunfire and a 23-year-old woman with a single gunshot wound.
They were both rushed to hospital for treatment.
The male victim succumbed to his injuries shortly after arriving at hospital. The woman was still recovering in hospital on Saturday afternoon.
Const. Andy Pattenden said that two armed male suspects pulled up to the driveway of the home in a dark coloured sedan.
The victims were seated in a white Ford Escape SUV parked in the driveway.
The suspects fired “a lot of shots” into the vehicle, shattering several windows and pockmarking it with bullet holes.
Busby said there were a large number of people out in the area where the shooting occurred.
Pattenden said the investigation has revealed the home the victims were using was listed on AirBnB as a short term rental.
Investigators have learned a witness vehicle was passing right by the incident on Colter Street as the shots rang out.
Pattenden said the driver of that vehicle should call police immediately.
Police are working to collect dashboard camera and surveillance footage of the shooting scene and adjacent streets.
“We will figure out who these people are so I am urging those responsible to retain counsel and turn themselves in," Pattenden said.
For its part, AirBnb issued a statement confirming the house the victims were staying in was listed on their platform.
“The senseless violence reported is abhorrent and has no place in the Airbnb community, and our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by this incident. We have removed the booking guest from our platform and we stand ready to support York Regional Police in their investigation”
