Investigators say the 32-year-old man shot dead by a gunman passing by him in another car in the Mount Dennis area on Wednesday morning was a loving father of a small boy who worked in restaurants and was not known to police.

Jermaine Titus was behind the wheel of his Lexus sedan on Weston Road on Wednesday morning at about 10 a.m. when the driver of an SUV passing in the other direction pointed a handgun at him and fired three shots.

One bullet struck Titus and he pulled his vehicle to a stop at the side of the road.

Paramedics said Titus was breathing when they arrived, but life-saving efforts failed and he was later pronounced dead at the scene.

A second occupant of the Lexus was not injured. The occupant is cooperating fully with the investigation.

Det. Sgt. Michael Patterson said Titus was a hard working father of a four-year-old son.

“His death was senseless. He had no prior convictions and no gang affiliations. He appeared to have worked very hard.”

Patterson said they believe Titus was targeted, but cannot say why.

Investigators are focusing in on Titus’ whereabouts in the 24 hours leading up to his death.

“He left the area of Kipling and Finch at about 8 a.m. (Wednesday), and that was his area of residence,” Patterson said.

Anyone who saw Titus’ vehicle prior to the shooting, a 2012 Lexus IS sedan with a black band across the top of the trunk, heavily tinted windows and darkened rims, is asked to call police.

On Thursday, officers identified a suspect in the shooting as 23-year-old Shamoi Palmer. A Canada-wide warrant was issued on a charge of first-degree murder. Police confirmed Palmer was located and arrested on Thursday night.

“We believe that Palmer was the sole occupant of that SUV and he was the one who pulled the trigger,” Patterson said.

A surveillance camera video of the shooting, obtained by CTV News Toronto, showed the suspect vehicle move past Titus’ vehicle as shots rang out.

“That upset (Titus’ family) quite a bit, that that was out there. We did not authorize the release of that video. It affected our investigation I am not going to lie to you, and the family was quite disturbed to see their loved one murdered on TV,” Patterson said.