Toronto police are on the hunt for three masked men in connection to a shooting inside an apartment unit in west-end Toronto that left a 23-year-old man and his 20-year-old pregnant girlfriend with serious injuries.
Officers responded to a call about a shooting around 1:13 a.m. on Tuesday at a residential high-rise on Kipling Avenue south of Steeles Avenue West in Rexdale.
Police said the shooting took place while the male victim and his three-month pregnant girlfriend were asleep in bed. Two other small children were also sleeping in another room inside the apartment and were not injured.
“It’s very disturbing that someone’s in their home, in bed, and people come in, in the middle of the night, and perpetrate this sort of crime,” Supt. Ron Taverner said during a press conference Tuesday morning.
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“A lot of things could have gone wrong here. These people could be dead. These children could have been in bed with them. There’s a lot of different things that could have happened here. It’s disgusting to think these things could happen.”
Police said the man suffered a gunshot wound to his hand and leg. The woman was shot in the chest and the shoulder. Both were transported to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The woman’s 11-week-old fetus was not harmed, officials confirmed.
Taverner said the male victim was known to police and was wanted for a number of offences including attempted murder and a home invasion robbery that took place a week and half ago. He has since been placed under arrest.
“We do believe that this has gang tones to it and there are certainly indications that gang members were involved on both sides of this investigation,” Taverner said.
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Police said there were no visible signs of entry into the apartment unit and that there was “some other means of getting in there.” Authorities said they have a vague description of the three suspects but they were all disguised in dark clothing.
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The apartment shooting comes a year after 33-year-old Candice Rochelle Bobb, who was five months pregnant, was fatally shot in the backseat of a vehicle in the city’s Jamestown neighbourhood. No arrests have yet been made in the case.
“It’s unbelievable types of crime when any shooting happens, but particularly when there’s a pregnant woman that’s been shot in her home,” Taverner said.
“We’ve experienced these things before where a pregnant woman was shot and killed. They’re just despicable, despicable crimes.”
Police have yet to release the identity of both shooting victims.
Meanwhile, Taverner said security footage from the building’s surveillance system has been obtained from the scene but police are hoping for witnesses to come forward.
“Speculation that we have is that it’s a retaliation type crime but we don’t have anything at this moment to say that,” Taverner said.
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