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
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.