'The sweetest guy that I knew': Oshawa pawn shop employee gunned down outside store
Details are starting to emerge about the man fatally shot in the parking lot outside an Oshawa pawn shop late Thursday evening.
Speaking with the media Friday morning, Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss identified the victim as Michael Nigris and said that he worked at the Cash Connections store in the “Teddy’s” plaza where the shooting occurred.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., police were called to the area of King Street West and Park Road South and located a male who had been shot.
Bortoluss said “numerous” people unsuccessfully attempted to perform life-saving measures on the 30-year-old Oshawa man Thursday night, but he died at the scene.
Area resident Ashley Berkuta knew Nigris as she’s a regular Cash Connections customer.
She said Nigris was the “sweetest guy” she knew and was the son of the store’s owner, Danny Nigris.
“No matter what type of day you’re having (Michael) always made it so happy, so bright,” she shared, calling him a “generous” person who gave customers a break if they were late with a payment.
“He’d let you come in the next day or when you had money or whatever. You couldn’t ask for a better friend.”
Berkuta said she heard the news of Nigris’ death shortly before 10:30 p.m. last night when a friend called her to let her know he’d had been shot.
Area resident Ashley Berkuta holds up a photo of Oshawa murder victim Michael Nigris. Berkuta said she knew the victim as she's a regular customer at the Cash Connections pawn shop where he worked.
Wearing a Cash Connections ball cap given to her earlier this week by the victim, Berkuta told reporters that said she rushed over to the plaza, which was blocked off and filled with police cruisers, to find her friend on the ground outside his family’s business. His truck was nearby, she said.
“I thought it was all a joke with April Fool’s coming, but it wasn’t a joke,” she said.
“He did not deserve (to be shot). No one deserves (that).”
In a Facebook post shared early Friday morning, Cash Connections Oshawa said the victim worked at the store.
“Valued customers, late last evening one of our employees was shot and killed outside of the store,” they wrote.
“The store will be closed until Monday, April 3rd, at minimum. We will keep everyone updated. All buybacks and layaways due during this time will be extended at no extra charge. Family and staff are grieving and ask for privacy at this time. Anyone with any information, please contact the DRPS Homicide.”
Police say that they’re searching for one male suspect in connection with the homicide and have located their vehicle nearby. The suspect is only described as male with a small build. He was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweater and dark pants.
Durham police continue to investigate the fatal shooting of a male late Thursday night at a plaza in Oshawa.
Officers are also conducting an evidence search related to the homicide at nearby Dundee Park at Waverly Street North and Dundee Avenue.
Bortoluss said investigators are also in the process of speaking to witnesses and gathering information, including collecting and going through surveillance footage from the shopping plaza where the murder took place.
Anyone with any information, including video footage, is urged to contact DRPS’s homicide unit or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.