A 23-year-old man who was shot to death outside Yorkdale Shopping Centre Saturday night was a member of a violent Asian street gang, Toronto police said at a news conference Wednesday.
Michael Nguyen was with a male friend when he was shot execution style Saturday night as they both left the busy mall. His 24-year-old friend was also shot but suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Both were known to police and had affiliations with a street gang called "Asian Assassins."
Police say they are looking for at least two suspects in the case, neither of which were described or named by investigators.
Investigators strongly believe the men were targeted, telling reporters that there was no altercation inside the mall as was previously reported.
“We now know Mr. Nguyen and the surviving victim attended Yorkdale mall together and were there for a short period of time,” said homicide Det. Rob North. “Nothing appears to have occurred while they were in the mall that led to the shooting events outside the mall at 8:05 p.m.”
Nguyen’s friend has not been publicly identified by police but North said he has since been discharged from hospital and is recovering from his injuries.
Police told reporters that although the incident is being linked to gang activity, there is no evidence to suggest that the incident is linked to any other murder. There is also no evidence to suggest Nguyen or his friend returned fire or did anything at that moment to provoke the attack. The men were simply shopping and eating at the mall before they headed for the parking lot.
“My opinion is someone must have known they were at Yorkdale Mall and were waiting outside in the parking lot to ambush them as they returned to their motor vehicle,” North said. “Clearly that has become the central focus of the investigation at this point.”
Nguyen was shot as he approached a parked car but managed to run several meters before he collapsed. He was then shot again several times at point blank range.
His friend was shot as he too ran away from the parked car.
In total, eight gunshots were fired. No bystanders were injured though the parking lot was busy at the time the shooting took place.
The next step for investigators is to look at “hundreds of hours of video” from both the interior and exterior of the mall, North said. Police are also reviewing surveillance images from surrounding businesses and are actively seeking out witnesses who may have more information on the victim or suspects.
Hundreds of shoppers were kept at Yorkdale mall for hours as police blocked off all exit routes from the mall in an effort to protect the crime scene. Police were able to question witnesses at that point but many were told they couldn’t pick up their car until late Sunday afternoon when investigators completed their search of the area.
Yorkdale reopened for business on Monday as scheduled.
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