Toronto police say a 26-year-old man who was shot in the back as he walked to his car in Etoboicoke Friday night was an innocent man who was killed simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Nnamdi Ogba was walking toward his parked car on Scarlettwood Court shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday, March 16 when two suspects approached him from behind and started shooting.
“Nnamdi was struck in the back and succumbed to his injuries on the ground,” Detective Jason Shankaran told reporters at a news conference on Monday.
The two men then ran off got into a waiting SUV.
Shankaran called the attack “cowardly” said that he believes Ogba did nothing to provoke the attack. He said Ogba did not live at the Toronto Community Housing Complex nor did he know his attackers.
He said police believe the assailants were looking to hurt someone as part of a desire to seek some sort of vengeance on the community itself, though it’s not known what neighbourhood the suspects came from.
“Nnamdi was an innocent man. He had no criminal record and no known gang affiliation. Nnamdi was an electrical engineer, he had a fiancée, he was about to be married,” Shankaran said.
He said the community of Scarlettwood Court has seen violence in the past and that he believes the suspects came from another community.
“I know that the community of Scarlettwood Court has received its share of tragedy and also violence,” he said. “I believe those suspects may harbor some sort of animosity toward the neighbourhood of Scarlettwood Court and those residents who reside in it.”
Police also released a series of video clips taken from Toronto Community Housing security camera footage of the two suspects, as well as the suspect vehicle.
The first clip shows the suspect’s vehicle – believed to be a “newer model” Nissan Rogue – pull into the parking lot and the two suspects get out of the passenger side.
The remaining clips show a several angles of the moments leading up to and following Ogba’s untimely death. In one, Ogba can be seen walking towards his car prior to being ambushed by the suspects. The two perpetrators eventually appear and can be seen walking towards Ogba and later fleeing in the same direction they came, presumably after opening fire on their victim.
Shankaran said the images of the suspects, “although grainy,” contain “particular details” that he believes will be easily identifiable to someone who knows them.
“I think these suspects are going to be very familiar to those that know them. I ask you look into your heart at this particular situation,” Shankaran said “This situation is not one gang member shooting another – it’s an innocent man being gunned down (while) walking to his car (after) going to see his fiancé.”
Shankaran said while he believes the safety fears stemming from the community are “justified,” he said cooperating from the community will help police arrest the two dangerous suspects.
“Mr. Ogba did nothing to bring this upon himself. The evidence we have in front of us tells us that Mr. Ogba lifestyle, his activities, anything he did prior to did not lead to this particular incident,” he said, “The only thing that led to his death was simply walking out of that building at that particular time and place and having these two individuals meet with him in that parking lot.”
