Toronto police say a group of men who had just finished their midnight prayers were “accidentally attacked” during a shooting in Scarborough early Saturday morning.
At around 1 a.m., a group of people celebrating the holy month of Ramadan in Islam gathered in a parking lot to discuss where to eat after they had just finished praying in the Markham Road and Lawrence Avenue East area, police said.
“While they were here and just getting ready to leave, they fired. And unfortunately, five people were hit by these bullets from what we believe may have come from a vehicle on Markham Road that was traveling past it. ” This was stated by David Ridzik at a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
Four men were found at the scene with gunshot wounds and were transported to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The fifth victim, who also received non-life-threatening injuries, went to the hospital on her own.
Police said the victims were between 28 and 35 years old, and some were married with children.
“Three of these five have been released from the hospital at the moment and the other two are expected to recover very well,” Ridzik said.
At least six shots were fired at the men, but it is not known how many suspects were involved in the shooting, according to Ridzhik.
Early police reports say the suspects fled the scene in a blue car and were traveling north on Markham Road.
“We believe the suspects were in a vehicle that was traveling, but we are working very hard to collect surveillance videos to try to confirm this, so at the moment I can’t say for sure what vehicle was used. in this particular shooting, I do not currently have a description of the suspicion, “said Ridzik.
Police said they could not say at this time whether the victims were targeted because of their religious beliefs.
Ridzik added that the group of men appeared to have been attacked at random, as there was no information to suggest that they were involved in any crime.
“They [had] they just come from prayers. They gather here because they have fasted all day. They gather here, as usual during Ramadan, to find out “where we are going to eat” and maybe continue to talk about Ramadan, and that is absolutely worrying. “
In a tweet posted on Saturday afternoon, Toronto Police Chief James Ramer said that although it was too early to confirm the motive, the Hate Crimes Unit was committed to the investigation.
Nadim Sheikh, a member of the board of the Scarborough Muslim Association, also spoke at the press conference and said he was concerned about the latest brazen shooting in the community.
“I am really upset and worried. I am concerned. “Five mature, grown-up, family-oriented men were shot dead this morning,” Sheikh said.
“We call on our local police authorities, with whom we work closely, our local authorities, to use all possible resources to detain these suspects and reduce gun violence in this community, as in any other Toronto community,” he said. added.
Police are asking anyone with information or recordings from the camera to contact the 43rd Division or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
Add Comment