Dwayne Anthony Vidal, a young father of three children, was feeling happy about his new job and moving towards a better life when he left work at 5 p.m. on March 10.
About 40 minutes later, he was fatally shot in the chest steps away from his townhouse at 17 Mount Olive Dr., near Martin Grove and Albion Rds. in Etobicoke.
Police said the suspect fled the scene immediately in the passenger seat of a white vehicle.
Vidal’s children, two sons and a daughter, were waiting for their dad to get home.
Friends and family remember the 31-year-old chef at Villa Colombo, a long-term care facility in North York, as a hardworking, funny, loving man who adored his kids and made delicious fried rice.
“He talked a lot about the things he wanted to do in his life,” said Palma Clarke, a co-worker and a friend of Vidal, who was “more like a son than a friend.”
“He talked about how he wanted to buy a house with his brother. He had gone back to school to get his trucking license and recently got a job as a truck driver. He was working multiple jobs. He always remembered to take care of his kids. He always wanted to do something to excel in life for them,” Clarke told the Star over the phone.
“The last time I saw him, Dwayne made us fried rice and chicken at work,” Clarke said.
“The fried rice was his speciality and so tasty. The curry goat he also made was to die for. We just talked and goofed around. He was always cracking jokes.”
“I still call him,” Clarke added. “I called him today too hoping he would pick up.”
Originally from Jamaica, Vidal moved to Canada with his younger brother and father in 1997, according to his brother Troy Vidal.
“He was a great big brother,” Vidal said.
“His personality was awesome. He was fun, outgoing, living. It was always about his family and close friends for him. When he was not working hard, he was with family.”
“I remember the times we used to play soccer together when we were young. I remember being there for his first baby in the hospital. He was there when I had my first child,” Vidal said choking back tears.
According to Clarke and Dwayne’s brother, everyone was shocked to find out Vidal had been shot. Investigators said on Wednesday morning that Vidal was not known to police, and could not comment on whether or not the shooting was targeted.
It was interesting because Dwayne always worried about the neighbourhood he lived in, Clarke said.
“He was always worried about all the shootings. If he saw a shooting on the news, he always asked why people don’t put down the guns and the knives. He didn’t like the violence.”
Police have described the suspect of the shooting as a Black male, between 5’9” and 6’ tall, and wearing a black hood with a covering on his face.
Investigators said the suspect was captured on surveillance video walking around the townhouse complex seven to eight minutes before the shooting.
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