A 23-year-old man has died after a daytime shooting at a Scarborough strip mall.
Police say the man was shot in front of Conrad’s Hair Styling Barber Shop, located in the area of Lawrence Avenue and Markham Road, at approximately 2:10 p.m. on Monday. Police say a fight broke out and the man was shot. He has since been identified by police as Mohamed Arif Patel.
It’s not immediately clear how many times Patel was shot. Witnesses told CTV Toronto two shots rang out and he was loaded into an SUV by friends and strangers, unconscious and bleeding heavily. They say it appears he was shot in the stomach.
"He was at the parking lot -- his friend was carrying him but he dropped him because maybe he was a little heavy," said a man who helped put Patel into the SUV.
The SUV was driven by an unidentified woman, who attempted to rush Patel to a nearby hospital. They didn’t make it and instead ended up at a nearby gas station, located at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Bellamy Road. Patel was pronounced dead at the gas station.
Police have not released a description of the suspects, but say they will be reviewing security camera footage.
"All we have right now is that a woman took the man that was shot and police were then called to the gas station, where the man could get some medical attention," Const. Jennifer Sidhu said.
"We don’t have any suspects at this time, but we are canvassing the area and speaking to any witnesses."
Four nearby schools were temporarily placed in a hold-and-secure mode as a result of the shooting. It was lifted at approximately 4:30 p.m.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Collin D’Mello
