Toronto police have released clips from a surveillance camera showing a group of men waiting in a lobby in an Upper Beach apartment, minutes before a fatal shooting took place earlier this month.
Police released the video on Monday, hoping it will convince the suspects and those who witnessed the shooting to come forward.
The footage shows six men waiting in the lobby of an apartment building around midnight on Nov. 10. Just minutes after the clips were recorded, a 20-year-old man was killed in the lobby on his birthday. Gaethan Kitadi was shot in the back around 12:30 a.m. at his apartment near Main Street and Kingston Road where he lives with his parents and siblings.
Det.-Sgt. Justin Vander Heyden said he hoped revealing the footage will encourage the men in the video to turn themselves in "under the weight of their own conscience."
Though the footage shows six males, Vander Heyden said it's likely most of the men didn't expect the night to turn violent, since they make no effort to hide their faces from the camera: "Although these males came to crash a birthday party, not all of them came looking for trouble."
However, by not coming forward, he said the men could be charged with aiding and abetting in the "cold-blooded murder of an innocent, unarmed young man."
The part of the video police released shows six men waiting in the vestibule until someone leaves the building. When the locked door is opened, the men enter the lobby. Two of the men leave -- Vander Heyden said police believe the men tried to find the party by searching the building, listening at doors - while the remaining four wait.
In the footage that hasn't been released, Vander Heyden said a group of eight men, including Kitadi and the men who had arrived earlier, are seen on the footage exiting the elevators to the lobby of the building. As the men walk to the doors, Vander Heyden said it appears a physical confrontation breaks out between some of the men and Kitadi. The footage shows Kitadi turning his back to the men and then a shot is fired, hitting Kitadi's upper body.
Vander Heyden said it appears Kitadi was attempting to escort the men out of the building just before being shot. He says police and EMS arrived shortly after the incident, but efforts to revive Kitadi were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Emergency workers told Vander Heyden they were met by "very upset and concerned friends of Mr. Kitdai's" at the apartment, and emergency workers "had to push and fight their way to find him."
A "great deal" of the incident is captured on footage, but it is hard to tell exactly which man was the shooter, Vander Heyden said.
He added that there was a guest list to the party on social media, but believes that either Kitadi or someone else at the party likely knew the men.
Vander Heyden said Kitadi was not known to Toronto police. Kitadi's death is Toronto's 52nd homicide of the year.
Anyone with information is asked to call Vander Heyden at 416-808-7400 ext. 77397 or Justin.VanderHeyden@torontopolice.on.ca. Anonymous tips can be made through Crime Stoppers.
