Police say investigators now believe three armed car thefts committed within two hours on Wednesday night are linked.
The thefts of cars, the latest in a series of violent incidents targeting high-end vehicles, took place between 4.30pm and 6.20pm on Wednesday.
Police say one of the incidents occurred near Sheppard Avenue East and Willowdale Avenue in North York, while the other two incidents occurred approximately 18 kilometers east of Scarborough – in the areas of Sheppard Avenue and Markham Road and Sheppard Avenue and Dean Park Road.
In each of the incidents, police said the victim was outside his home near his parked car when a white sedan stopped in front of their driveway and the suspect “immediately jumped out” and ran towards them.
Police said the suspect would pull out a gun and ask for the keys to the victim’s car.
He would then flee the scene in the victim’s car, while the other suspects fled in a white sedan.
Police said the suspects eventually escaped in three vehicles.
The stolen vehicles are as follows:
-
2008 white Lexus IS250 with Ontario registration number AMDT 138
-
2019 black Toyota Rav4 with Ontario registration number CJBN 929
-
2019 blue Toyota Corolla with Ontario registration number CHTK 924
The three car thefts are just the latest incidents in which Toronto residents were approached with guns and asked to hand over their keys, a trend that Mayor John Torrey said earlier this week has become a “plague” for the city.
On Wednesday night, CTV News Toronto spoke with one of the victims of the latest series of car thefts.
He said he had just returned from Costco and was about to enter his home when a man with a gun approached him and asked for his keys, along with his wallet and cell phone.
“I’ve heard a lot of things that happen, especially car theft, but I didn’t expect it to happen to me,” the man said. “I used to be very careful. But for whatever reason, I didn’t pay that much attention today. “
Police say suspects in Wednesday’s three car thefts should be considered armed and dangerous.
They say the first suspect was described as a black man in his 20s, about 1.5 meters tall and weighing 150 to 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black sweater with a hood and a black mask.
“All suspects must be considered armed and dangerous; if found, stay away and call 911 immediately, “a police statement said.
Add Comment