A normally-quiet Walmart parking lot turned into a scene of horror Thursday as a man was gunned down in broad daylight.
And the murder of the man identified by Toronto Police on Friday Andre Rodriguez, 26, of Toronto, may have started as an argument outside the St. Clair Ave.-Runnymede Rd.-area store.
“It’s scary because it’s normally so quiet here,” said Margarett, who did not wish to provide her last name. “I’m frightened because I shop here and we all have kids.”
Witnesses at the scene suggested the shots were fired during an argument between two men.
A man, who didn’t want to be named but works at an adjacent body shop, said he heard shouting before the shots were fired.
“When I got here, there were all these people around the body. I guess they had never seen one before,” he said.
Just before 1:45 p.m., calls came in for shots heard at a store at St. Clair and Mould Aves.
Police confirmed the shooting took place outside the Walmart. People continued shopping Thursday afternoon while homicide detectives conducted their investigation behind police tape.
Witnesses reported the victim was shot once in the head by the gunman.
Cops say they are looking for a single suspect, described as a Black male who fled westbound on St. Clair in a white SUV as the sole occupant.
A visibly distraught woman was seen being comforted by police officers, although her relationship to the victim — covered by an orange tarp next to an outdoor shopping cart corral — was unclear.
Police erected a large perimeter around the scene, leaving dozens of shoppers without access to their vehicles.
“I’m told I’ll be here for hours until the police finish,” said Nicolas, who had parked his car in the lot where the murder occurred.
Meanwhile, Toronto Police are also searching for those responsible for an apparent drive-by shooting in Little Manila.
Around 9:25 p.m. Wednesday, callers to 911 reported an unknown gunman in a red car firing into the patio of Marcelina’s Filipino Restaurant at 355 Wilson Ave.
One person was struck in the shoulder, and was rushed to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries.
A second person was treated at the scene by paramedics after being grazed in the back by a bullet.
Other shots from the gunman struck the restaurant’s front window, a chair and a wall.
About two hours later, police were called to a restaurant at Bloor St. West and Brock Ave. for reports of somebody shooting through the front door.
Nobody was injured.
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