Toronto police investigate North York homicide after man found dead in apartment
A man in his early 30s was pronounced dead at the scene of a disturbance in an apartment building Sunday morning.
Explainer
Toronto police are investigating a homicide after a man in his early 30s was found dead in a North York apartment building on Sunday morning. Officers responded to reports of a disturbance in a home near Lawrence Avenue West and William R. Allen Road around 8:19 a.m., police said in a social media post. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the homicide team has taken over the investigation. Police said no other injuries were reported.
Detective Sergeant Sajeev Nair said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that officers were called to an apartment building in the area of Flemington Road and Blossom Field Drive. Nair said some people, including the suspect, fled from a fourth floor unit. "Officers secured the scene and conducted a sweep of the area, rendering the area safe for the public," he said. The victim has not been publicly identified.
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"We're not ready to release a suspect description, but what I can tell you is that this apartment building has a significant amount of video surveillance," Nair said. "It's only going to be a matter of time before we have a good image of the suspect."
Detective Sergeant Sajeev Nair said the suspect was last seen heading north away from the apartment building. He could not say what the relationship was between the victim and the suspect. The victim, a man in his early 30s, suffered a traumatic injury, according to Nair, who did not specify how it was inflicted. Nair stated, "We're not ready to release a suspect description, but what I can tell you is that this apartment building has a significant amount of video surveillance." He added, "It's only going to be a matter of time before we have a good image of the suspect." The homicide team has taken over the investigation.
How have neighbours reacted?
Neighbours expressed fear and sadness following the incident. Gladys Sarrazin told CBC Toronto she has lived in the area for 60 years and is now seeing more crime. "There's so much happening," she said. "I grew up in this area and I'm seeing more now than I ever did in 60 years. So it's bad." Ashley Shay, another neighbour, described the morning as "intense" and said she was "very sad to hear" about the incident.
Shay said the presence of children and two schools in the area made the situation particularly worrisome. "That's just very scary because there's a lot of kids in the area, there's two schools in the area," she told CBC Toronto. "It's just very worrisome. So hopefully the police do their due diligence and just help the family get closure and find out what's going on because this is very unacceptable." Shay added that her son was asking for answers she could not provide. "My son is asking me, 'what's going on, mommy?' and I'm not able to give him answers," she said.
What has the local councillor said?
Councillor Mike Colle, who represents Eglinton-Lawrence, told CBC Toronto that significant work had been done in the Lawrence Heights area to address crime. He cited the opening of a mini police station, increased Toronto Community Housing Corporation security and youth programs. "I was really dreading that this would happen because it's been so good," Colle said. "This shatters all the good work. It really makes me sick to my stomach." Colle said he believes sentencing for serious crimes should be increased. "We're all really disgusted and distraught and we feel so awful that another person's lost their life," Colle added. Police are asking anyone with information to contact them.
What else is known about the investigation?
Detective Sergeant Nair emphasized that the apartment building has extensive video surveillance, which he expects will help identify the suspect. The investigation is ongoing and police have not released a description of the suspect. The incident occurred in the same city where, in a separate case, police are investigating the death of a 31-year-old man found on Keele Street near York University early Sunday, but that investigation involves a collision with a vehicle. In Quebec City, police are separately investigating the death of 21-year-old Gabriel-Simon Akokane as a homicide after he was found in a home on Friday.
With files from CBC News, Global News and CityNews