The victim of a Sunday morning shooting outside a Pickering recreation centre has been identified.
Matthew Ruscitti was found lying behind the Pickering Recreation Complex on Valley Farm Road, near The Esplanade, at around 6:30 a.m. after police received reports of gunshots in the area.
Life-saving efforts were attempted, but the 24-year-old died on the way to the hospital.
An autopsy has been scheduled to determine Ruscitti’s exact cause of death, but investigators said that his injuries were “consistent with gunshots wounds.”
On Sunday, Durham police said they were looking into reports of multiple suspects fleeing the area after the gunfire. At this point, it’s unclear if they were suspects or witnesses.
Police do not have a description of a possible suspect or suspects at this time. The homicide unit is investigating.
A large area was cordoned off on Sunday while officers conducted a grid search for evidence pertaining to the murder. A drone camera was also dispatched to survey the scene and take aerial photographs.
The shooting unfolded just as parents and kids were arriving for a hockey tournament being held at the rec centre.
“It gets them asking questions about serious things in life that unfortunately now have become a reality, it seems, more and more all the time,” one man told CTV News Toronto.
“This is an area for sports. Like, my son plays soccer here, a lot of kids pay volleyball here in the summer,” said another man. “It’s unfortunate that it’s happening here.”
A employee working in an office inside the centre that morning said he heard four or five shots. He said it sounded like someone was banging on the front glass doors.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact them or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
