‘I literally passed out’: Aunt recalls moment she heard nephew killed in Toronto shooting

Judith Taylor remembers getting the news of her nephew Tyrone Tomlinson’s death after he was shot and killed in Toronto’s east end Sunday.

“To be honest, I just fell to the ground. There was no reaction – I literally passed out,” Taylor told Global News Wednesday.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "To be honest, I just fell to the ground. There was no reaction - I literally passed out," Taylor told Global News Wednesday.

Toronto police said officers were called to Langford and Danforth avenues, near Jones Avenue, just after 12:15 a.m. Sunday. Police found Tomlinson in life-threatening condition and paramedics rushed him to hospital where he later died. Investigators said a man was seen running eastbound after the shooting.

Taylor said Tomlinson was on his way to see his three-year-old son at the boy’s mother’s house when he was shot.

READ MORE: Man dies in hospital after shooting in Toronto’s east end

She said after working in construction for two years, 21-year-old Tomlinson wanted to take on a new career.

“The Saturday before (the shooting) he was mentioning that he wanted to go back to school to be … an elevator engineer,” Taylor said.

“He was a decent kid. He had hopes, he had dreams and he was hoping for a future.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He was a decent kid. He had hopes, he had dreams and he was hoping for a future."

In the wake of Tomlinson’s death, Taylor called for increased gun control.

“I never knew that it would happen in my family and I’m thinking there should be stricter rules, stricter laws.”

Tomlinson is one of nine people who have been killed in Toronto since the beginning of 2017.

Meanwhile, Taylor launched a crowdfunding page to assist with her nephew’s funeral costs.

Anyone with information is being asked to call police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.