Investigators have identified a 21-year-old man they believe was left to die in an Etobicoke parking lot after being shot over the weekend.
At around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, emergency crews were called to a plaza located in the area of Kipling Avenue and Steeles Avenue West.
Upon arrival at the scene, officers said they located a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound in the back of a black vehicle. He was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators previously said the man, identified as Amir Naraine, had been stabbed to death, but speaking at a news conference held on Monday afternoon, Det.-Sgt. Andy Singh confirmed that information was “incorrect.”
Detectives with Toronto Police Service’s homicide unit have taken over the investigation.
While delving into what has been discovered thus far in their investigation, Singh told reporters that the vehicle, which belonged to Naraine, was found “in a half-hazard manner” when officers arrived at the scene.
Singh added that the vehicle “wasn’t parked properly.”
“We believe Naraine was not the only occupant of the vehicle,” he said. “I believe whoever left the vehicle behind did so in a rush and they left Naraine behind.”
Singh went on to say that the exact location of where Naraine sustained the fatal gunshot wound is not yet know.
“Despite finding Naraine deceased at the scene, we believe that may not have been the case when the vehicle was left there in the first place,” he said. “The autopsy will show that, but in regards to the people that were in the vehicle, I speak directly to you, in leaving somebody behind who could use medical aid and now is deceased, I think it is the collective responsibility for everybody in that vehicle to come forward.”
All of that being said, Singh added he cannot rule out the possibility that Naraine may have been shot inside the vehicle.
“We’re open to the possibility of both ways – he could have been deceased, he could have been alive, that’s what the autopsy will have to tell us.”
Investigators said they are working to track the whereabouts of the vehicle prior to Naraine being found dead.
CTV News Toronto has obtained security video from a nearby store that shows a car pulling into the parking lot where Naraine was found. A man with a hoodie gets out of the car and walks over to the other vehicle and peers into the back seat. He then appears to return to his original vehicle.
The video shows the same car driving out of view and then returning to park beside the car Naraine was found inside. The man is then seen on the video getting out of the car and walking towards the plaza.
Detectives believe the man in the video may be a friend of the victim and are hoping to speak with him.
Surveillance video shows a man approaching the vehicle where 21-year-old Amir Naraine was found dead. (Security video)
Singh said he has spoken with family members of Naraine, who described him as a “nice young man” and “a family guy.”
The 21-year-old was working full-time, but was recently diagnosed with an illness that took him out of work, according to Singh.
Detectives are urging anyone with any further information pertaining to the investigation to come forward.
“Investigators are urging anyone who may have seen Naraine or the vehicle that he was found in – a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu with licence plate CKDL 486 – on the night of Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019, or the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, to please contact police,” officers said in a news release issued on Monday.
Police also released an image of a vehicle similar to the one Naraine was found in.
No further information regarding any possible suspects wanted in connection with the deadly incident has been released thus far.
Anyone with any further details pertaining to this case is asked to contact investigators at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously 416-222-TIPS (8477).
