Man 'in shock' after SUV stolen in one of three Toronto carjackings in two-hour span
A man says he is still in shock after his SUV was stolen from his Scarborough driveway in one of the three carjackings in Toronto that occurred in the span of two hours Wednesday.
“I thought I was dreaming,” the man, who asked not to be identified, told CTV News Toronto, recounting what happened to him.
He said he just got back from Costco and was about to go inside his home in the area of Sheppard Avenue East and Ecopark Gate when a man holding a pistol approached him.
“I was scared when I saw the pistol,” the man said, adding that there was a second man waiting inside a white Hyundai.
“He asked me to leave the key in, leave the car.”
The man said he was also asked to give his wallet and cell phone. He recalled thinking that “This is not real.”
“I was in shock,” the man said.
He added that he’s been living in the neighbourhood for more than two years, and he has not seen an incident like this.
The man said he regarded the area as a safe neighbourhood.
“I have been hearing a lot of things going on, especially carjacking, but I was not expecting that it will happen to me,” the man said.
When asked what he wanted other drivers to know, the man said they should be observant of their surroundings and be vigilant.
“I used to be very careful. But for whatever reason today, I was not giving that much attention,” the man said.
Police said the suspects fled the area with the man’s black Toyota Rav4. They are looking into whether the same suspects were involved in another carjacking 18 kilometres away an hour earlier.
It happened in the area of Alfred Avenue and Longmore Street, north of Sheppard Avenue East, just before 4:30 p.m.
Police said suspects reportedly pulled up in two cars, and one of them brandished a handgun. They stole a white Lexus IS 250 AMDT 138 and fled the scene.
No injuries were reported.
Later in the evening, police were called to a third carjacking in the area of Sheppard Avenue East and Massie Street, more than five kilometres west of the second incident.
Police said two suspects drove up to a man, and one of them produced a handgun.
They then stole his car and fled the scene.
No suspect descriptions have been released in the three incidents, the latest in a string of carjackings in the city. As of Tuesday afternoon, Toronto police said its hold-up unit had responded to 60 armed carjackings, surpassing the 59 incidents they investigated in 2021.
On Monday evening, Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner became a victim of a carjacking in Etobicoke, with suspects stealing his Range Rover.
He released a statement on Twitter, calling the incident scary.
“To all the fans, my friends and teammates, and the entire Maple Leafs organization – thank you for all your positive messages over the last few days,” Marner tweeted.
- With files from CTV News Toronto's Beth Macdonell
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.