Peel Regional Police say homicide is investigating after a double shooting left one man dead and one woman in life-threatening condition in Brampton.
Officers said they were called to the area of Kennedy Road and Vodden Street at around 12:45 a.m. with reports that shots had been fired.
Upon arrival they found two victims, a man and a woman in their late 20s, who had both been shot. The two were transported to hospital, where the man succumbed to his injuries.
The woman remains in life-threatening condition. Police later identified the deceased man as 27-year-old Clifford Correia from Brampton.
Officers told reporters the two victims were in the back of a taxi cab when the shooting occurred. Iftikar Hussain, the taxi driver, spoke to Global News Sunday afternoon and said he was unharmed but is in shock.
“I’m not feeling well, it’s shocking but it’s still fresh,” he said.
“They shot, I was just watching in the front, I didn’t know what happened on the backside. All I heard was pop, pop, pop, pop.”
Hussain said the police have taken his car for the investigation.
Lorraine Mercer lives in the area. She and her husband were watching television when he heard the shots.
“He heard what he thought was five gunshots, then he thought no – he looked out the window – can’t be a gunshot,” she said.
“We’re not living in the states here. There’s no reason to have guns. Nobody should have guns.”
Later Sunday afternoon, Peel Regional police sent out a press release that said they believe the two separate shootings in Brampton early Sunday morning were related.
“The Homicide and Missing Persons Bureau has taken carriage of both investigations, police believe these were targeted incidents and appear to be related to one another. The investigations into each are on-going,” the statement said.
The suspect is described as a man who was last seen wearing dark clothing. Officers said he left the scene in a dark pickup truck that they believe to be a Ford F-150.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 905-453-3311 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 905-455-8477.
— With files from Kamil Karamali.