'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
NEW Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
NEW Life got in the way of one woman's reunion with her father, but a DNA test gained her a family
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Quebec Health Department reports 28 cases of eye damage linked to solar eclipse
Quebec's Health Department says it has received 28 reports of eye damage related to the April 8 total solar eclipse that passed over southern parts of the province.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.