Police have issued an arrest warrant for an 18-year-old man in connection with a daylight stabbing in the city’s Weston neighbourhood earlier this week.

Angus, Ontario resident David Blacquiere, 54, was fatally stabbed outside of a Shopper’s Drug Mart near Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue on the morning of Nov. 14.

At a news conference on Saturday afternoon, Det. Rob North said that investigators believe that Blacquiere was in the company of Christopher Enrique Gordon when the pair arrived at the plaza in the same vehicle.

Blacquiere was then stabbed during the course of an altercation that began inside that vehicle, police allege.

Gordon is wanted for second-degree murder in connection with the homicide.

“I am making a direct appeal to Mr. Gordon to contact the lawyer of his choosing and then surrender himself at the nearest police station, wherever that may be,” North told reporters on Saturday.

Suspect initially went to nearby apartment

North said that businesses in the plaza were able to provide a “large amount” of surveillance camera footage, which assisted police in the investigation.

He said that investigators now believe that Gordon went to a nearby apartment building located at 2222 Weston Road immediately following the stabbing.

He said that another man who helped him escape the homicide scene also assisted him in leaving that apartment sometime later.

That man, previously identified as Demetrius McFarquhar, is wanted on charges of accessory after the fact of murder, attempting to obstruct justice and failing to comply with his recognizance.

Meanwhile, North said that investigators are also looking to speak with a man who was in the plaza and had a “very brief exchange of words” with the suspect prior to the stabbing.

“I would ask that person to please come forward and contact the homicide squad,” he said.

North says that the stabbing suspect is known to police. He said that he has ties to the Barrie area but was staying in Toronto prior to the homicide.

As for the relationship between the suspect and the victim, North said that investigators are still working to determine “how far back their interactions go.”

Gordon is described as six-foot-four and about 150 lbs. with cornrows. He was last seen wearing dark-coloured clothing.