Global News has learned the victim who died in a shooting in York Region was previously charged in connection with the theft of a gibbon and a lemur from an Ontario zoo.
Emergency crews were called just after 3 p.m. on Wednesday to the parking lot off of Ninth Line, north of Aurora Road, with reports a 22-year-old man was shot.
The man, who was later identified as Sunderland resident Alex Perlmutter, died at the scene.
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Police said Perlmutter was shot at a parking lot in the Highway 48 and Queensville Side Road area of East Gwillimbury. The homicide unit is looking for three male suspects who were seen leaving the scene in a dark-coloured SUV.
Officers closed Ninth Line between Aurora Road and Legendary Trail for the investigation.
Perlmutter was charged in June after a gibbon, a lemur and a tortoise were taken from the Elmvale Jungle Zoo in Springwater in late May. The gibbon and lemur were later found in Quebec. It’s unclear if the tortoise was ever found.
Meanwhile, anyone with information is asked to call police at 1-866-876-5423 ext. 7865, email investigators at homicide@yrp.ca, or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
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