Double homicide at the end of my street! YIKES!!

[The Chameleon]

[color:green]So last night I was walking home from practice and I saw the road I take home blocked off with Police tape. Turns out it was a double homicide, where 2 25year old males were shot in their car in a possible car jacking gone wrong.

I always thought I lived in a safe area..guess not.

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Double Murder Victims Identified

Friday June 13, 2008

CityNews.ca Staff

A double murder in the city's west end has left two men dead and police hunting for clues.

Emergency crews were called to the scene on Walnut near Richmond streets early Friday morning. Once they arrived, paramedics found the victims inside their vehicle, which was running but in park.

"They found a high end Range Rover with a total of three occupants inside. There are two males in the front seat of the vehicle. Both deceased. Both still wearing their seat belts," outlined Det. Sgt. Gary Giroux of the Homicide Squad.

EMS officials worked feverishly to save their lives, but they both succumbed to their injuries and died on the way to hospital.

Neither man was known to police. The third person in the car is believed to be the girlfriend of one of the deceased, but police would not confirm those reports.

"That person is cooperating with the investigation and has been spoken to by the Homicide Squad," Det Sgt Giroux allowed.

The forensics team is still on the scene and expected to remain there until late Friday. The SUV is covered with a tarp because of the expected rain.

Police also expect to get some clues from cameras in the area.

"It's a co-op portion of the city, and a number of the buildings in that area are covered by video surveillance," explained Giroux.

The victims have been identified as Dylan Ellis and Oliver Martin, both 25 and from Toronto. They aren't known to police, or any other law enforcement agency in Canada.

"They were visiting friends within that co-op complex and they were watching the finals of the NBA playoffs" just before their deaths, Giroux said.

One man, who said he had known the victims since he was 10 years old, was visibly shaken.

"Senseless, random. These are the nicest people you ever met in your life. I don't know two better people," he lamented. The pressure became too much, and he couldn't continue.

"I, I can't, I can't talk to you guys," he stammered, then got in his car.

Ellis was a graduate of a college in Quebec and was pursuing a career as a photographer. Martin was a graduate of a university in southern Ontario, and had been working in Toronto's financial district.

Their families are both in the Toronto area. The vehicle belonged to be one of the victim's fathers.

There's no clear motive in the case, although there's speculation it may have been a carjacking gone wrong.

Shocked neighbours came out onto the street after hearing the shots but it's not known if anyone saw the attack take place.

"All of a sudden I heard really loud noises and then I was nosy and I came downstairs and realized two people had been shot around the corner here," related one neighbour.

"Makes me feel unsafe, you know. It's a really strange thing not to know what's going on so it's a little scary," commented another.

Most couldn't believe a murder like this could happen so close to home.

"I find that incredibly, um...difficult to fathom, because this is such a safe area," a third described.

Ellis and Martin are the city's 24th and 25th homicide of 2008; 13 of which were gun-related.

At this point police haven't released a suspect description.

However, Giroux had this to say: "I do believe that the shooter or shooters are familiar with that particular area of the city and I'm seeking the co-operation of the community with regards to their assistance in identifying who's responsible for this."

Anyone with information in the case can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

Meanwhile, no arrests have been made yet in the double shooting of two teens in Regent Park Wednesday. The victims were struck near a playground and both were rushed to hospital in a bystander's car.

One man, 18, was shot twice in the chest and remains in critical condition, while a 15-year-old boy is expected to recover after being shot in both legs.

2008 a terrible year for attacks on the innocent

Story link

[Jaimoe]

I went for my nightly walk (on my night-shift lunch break) right past that area the night before last. I was shocked to hear about this on the news this morning, although the area certainly has a rather large unsavoury element.

[djmelbatoast]

Yikes!

[Ol'Hickster]

Holy that pretty crazy !

[Ms Zimmy]

It's not that there are safe and unsafe areas, all it takes is one bad apple to make it unsafe.

Sucks when it's close to home though, sorry about that!

[Jaimoe]

Queen and Bathurst isn't safe at certain times of the day. It's an area not without its charms and character though. I wouldn't pass up moving there if the right offer came around, but the intersection of Queen and Bathurst itself is not good to say the least. There's a push by local officials (Adam Vaughan) to renovate the Big Bop and bring it back to its Victorian glory. I hope that comes to fruition.