Nearly two months after a bartender was fatally shot, police have released security video showing vehicles belonging to potential witnesses or suspects that shows there is a connection with another shooting that happened the same night.

On Tuesday, Aug. 26, police received a call of shots fired in a building along the Queensway, just east of Royal York Road at approximately 2:45 a.m. Police have not said whether anyone was injured in the incident, but said that witnesses reported seeing three vehicles leaving the scene.

About a half-hour later, police were called to the scene of a shooting downtown, where they found two people who had been injured. The shooting happened outside C Lounge nightclub, on Wellington Street West near Spadina Avenue.

Jelena Loncar, 32, was found without vital signs when paramedics arrived. She had suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest, and was pronounced dead in hospital.

A 25-year-old man was sent to hospital in critical condition, suffering five or six gunshot wounds. He was known to police, who said they believed he was the intended target of the shooting. Police have not commented on the man's condition since the shooting.

Loncar had been chatting with friends at the time of the shooting, Toronto Police Det. Sgt. Debbie Harris said at a news conference.

Friends said that two vehicles drove past the group, and a third held back. Though police had taken witness statements at the time, the information about the vehicles was just released on Wednesday.

A group of men got out of the cars and approached the crowd, and gunfire was heard, Harris said.

The black and white footage shows three cars believed to be the ones identified by Loncar's friends. A light-coloured car and two dark-coloured cars can be seen arriving at the intersection of King and Portland Streets a few minutes before the shooting, then leaving the area immediately after the shooting.

The vehicles matched the description of the three cars seen at the west-end shooting, and were seen leaving the building in the same order as they arrived at the shooting on Wellington Street.

After analyzing the separate locations, police have connected the incidents based on forensics and the vehicles shown in security footage.

They believe that the same three vehicles drove from the scene of the first shooting to the second.

Harris said forensic evidence links the scenes, though she did not elaborate on the type of evidence collected.

Police looking for witnesses to both incidents

The vehicles have been described as:

  • A white, 2011 or 2012 base model Chrysler 300 with no sunroof, standard rims and no front licence plate
  • A dark-coloured, four-door vehicle with no sunroof, standard rims and a small spoiler on the trunk, with front and rear licence plates
  • A dark-coloured, four-door vehicle with tinted windows, no sunroof, standard rims and front and rear plates

Harris said police are also looking for a male suspect, described as black, 5-foot-10 to 6-feet and 18- to 25-years-old. He was wearing gold grills on either his top or bottom teeth, and his hair is short or in cornrows.

Speaking at the news conference, Loncar's younger sister Lana said that her sister was "literally the nicest person in the world."

"From the moment she woke up, she had a smile from one side of her face to the other," Lana Loncar said, wringing her hands and crying.

Police hope the video and descriptions will help witnesses remember what they saw that night. They're also hoping that anyone who recognizes the vehicles in the video, including rental car agencies, will come forward.

There were about 100 people in the area at the time of the shooting. C Lounge management said there were no altercations inside the nightclub prior to the shooting.