A Toronto community is mourning the death of a 70-year-old father figure who was killed in a Scarborough shooting earlier this week.
Alva Dixon, 70, was fatally shot as he sat in a van outside a Toronto Community Housing residence in the area of Victoria Park Avenue and Morcambe Gate, on Wednesday night.
Dixon's friends and neighbours told CTV Toronto that they can't imagine why anyone would want him dead. Residents of the Scarborough neighbourhood said he was well liked, and served as a father figure for many in the area.
"He helps people. He'd do anything people in this community call him to do," one man told CTV.
If someone's bike broke, Dixon would fix it. If a neighbour needed a babysitter, he would watch the children.
Neighbours told CTV Toronto that Dixon had eight children and 13 grandchildren, and had been married to his wife for more than 50 years.
"It's heartbreaking. That's an innocent man whose life was taken," a resident said Friday of the shooting.
The fatal shooting was caught on surveillance camera, which was later released by Toronto police.
The video, which was posted to YouTube, shows a man step over a low fence and approach the passenger's side of the van.
Two flashes of light are visible at the end of what appears to be a gun held by the suspect. The man can then be seen running in the opposite direction.
Police released the video Thursday along with two photos of a suspect, hoping that someone will be able to identify him.
Anyone with information is asked to call 416-808-4200 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477 (TIPS).
With a report from CTV Toronto's Janice Golding
