Toronto police have identified the man shot to death in Corktown Saturday morning as 27-year-old Julian Weekes.
Speaking to reporters Sunday afternoon, Det.-Sgt. Mike Patterson said Weekes was killed on Friday night while walking home from Annie’s Bar and Grill, where a memorial was being held for his friend Ceyon Carrington, a 29-year-old Toronto man who was gunned down on Queen Street East and Carlaw Avenue on March 23.
After leaving the memorial, police say Weekes was walking down Parliament Street, near Queen Street, at around 2 a.m. Saturday, when he was shot multiple times by an unknown assailant.
Police say witness reports indicated that Weekes attempted to stop multiple vehicles in the area by banging on the cars but when the drivers would not pull over, he continued southbound on Parliament.
“Julian was found by 51 Division officers lying on the ground, clinging to life in a large pool of blood in the parking lot of the Shell gas station located at Parliament Street and Richmond Street,” Patterson said.
Despite life-saving efforts by first responders, Weekes was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Due to the large amount of blood that was present, officers began searching the area and found trails of blood that led back to the Queen Street East area,” the lead investigator said.
Police have released little information about possible suspects but Patterson said witnesses described the shooter as an athletic male who was spotted running quickly away from the scene.
The suspect was seen running east toward Power Street and south from Queen Street, police said.
“We’ve had a lot of success in retrieving video from the area and it is of very high quality. I’m confident in the next few days we’ll be able to have some high quality images of the event,” Patterson told members of the media.
Investigators are asking those who witnessed the incident to come forward to police.
“Julian was seen by at least three people that were riding on Parliament Street on bicycles all together. We have yet to speak to you so please reach out to us,” he said.
“Julian was also in the company of many friends at Annie’s Bar that were attending this memorial yet as of today, no one has presented themselves to us for an interview and we are very interested to hear what you have to say.”
Patterson said police would also like to speak to the people who were inside the vehicles Weekes’ tried to stop.
“The evidence that may be on your car is of interest to us,” he noted.
The detective added that Weekes, who is known to police, comes from a “very hard-working family.”
“He leaves behind a very loving girlfriend, father, mother and three siblings,” Patterson said.
Anyone with information about the deadly shooting is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
