Elliott Reid-Doyle, 18, of Toronto was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead, 83rd murder victim of 2018

Toronto police have identified Elliott Reid-Doyle, 18 as the city’s 83rd homicide victim.

On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. police responded to a shooting at a plaza at Bonis Ave. and Birchmount Rd. where they found a male suffering from gunshot wounds.

Elliott Reid-Doyle, 18, of Toronto was rushed to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The scene was in the area of four Toronto District School Board which were put in lockdown but later released.

The plaza where shooting occurred is frequented by many students, especially during the lunchtime hours.

TDSB spokesman Shari Schwartz-Maltz says Reid-Doyle wasn’t a student at the board.

The latest victim of Toronto gun violence was shot at the doors of Adeeb Convenience store.

Owner Adeeb says his wife was working at the time and while the store was open, the door was closed and unlocked.

His wife, who is still shaken, wasn’t at the store on Thursday and Adeeb says it’s frightening to think a bullet could have come through the window.

“This is generally this is a good area. Pregnant women walk around in the evening,” Adeeb told The Toronto Sun.

Phil Christie lives in a townhouse across from the plaza and says he was in his bedroom when he heard four shots.

“I saw two kids running away. They were young. One had a backpack and ran across the street through the intersection,” Christie said.

Police say they believe Reid-Doyle was with two companions when he was shot.

“Then there were paramedics doing chest compressions on this guy’s chest right in front of the door (of the convenience store),” Christie said.

He says the “odd crews” of school kids hang out at the plaza and without problems.

Toronto Mayor John Tory said that if there were a quick solution to the gun violence in the city then it would have been implemented by now.

“I’m just heartbroken every time one of these incidents happens involving a person of any age or at any place in the city,” Tory said.

“But I’m also honest enough to say to people – and I think they know in their heart of hearts – that there is no magic answer to this.”

Tory is proposing to hire 200 more officers in each of the next two years and is also calling for a handgun ban and tougher bail laws for gun crimes.

The other part of the long-term solution is an investment in communities and families to encourage children to stay in school and to help them find jobs when they’re older, he said.

“We just have to keep at those things,” Tory said.

But the Mayor draws the line at a return to street checks or carding, a practice that some police officers have said was useful in combating crime.

“It involved the arbitrary stopping of young men, many of them young Black men, on the street,” Tory said. “That is inconsistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Homicide investigators are asking witnesses to contact 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
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