'The sweetest guy that I knew': Oshawa pawn shop employee gunned down outside store
'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.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside' from his role examining the issue of foreign interference before he embarks on public hearings.
Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek says the Liberal government expects to have a plan for the future of 24 Sussex Drive by the fall.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has failed to persuade the House of Commons to condemn the Liberal government's approach to fighting drug addiction.
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan said Monday that Canada's spy agency has confirmed her long-held belief she is being targeted by the Chinese government, as the prime minister granted the NDP's wish to allow more party members to review top-secret intelligence.
Canadian political leaders and parliamentarians are denouncing a new law passed in Uganda that imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty, for certain cases involving homosexuality.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
With the summer swimming season fast approaching, the Canada Safety Council is reminding people to be careful and take measures to prevent drowning, especially after three children died just days apart.
Carla White is the only remaining tenant in her building, which is slated to be demolished to make room for a 176-unit condo project. But in order to move forward, the developer must reach an agreement with White -- and she says she won't leave until she's provided with a home that offers the long-term stability she needs to ensure she won't end up back on the streets.
Montreal police (SPVM) are investigating yet another suspicious fire. Two cars parked in front of a commercial building in Montreal East were engulfed in flames in the middle of the night on Tuesday.
The union representing the majority of Quebec's daycare workers is criticizing the government's decision to launch a skimpy 90-hour training program for people who want to be daycare workers but have no prior experience.
A new report to transit commissioners provides a high-level outlook on the financial challenges facing the bus system and suggests strategies to balance upcoming budgets including an increase to bus fares.
Police in Elgin County are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man and his pet dog after the dog repeatedly bit and injured a 62 year old while in a conservation area on Monday.
A man and a woman are facing multiple charges after they allegedly brandished a handgun and made threats against a victim in an east London, Ont. home over the weekend, police said.
The rural Oxford County intersection where an OPP officer and a school bus driver were killed Monday was less than a month away from becoming a four-way stop when the deadly crash happened.
It was a night of indecision at Waterloo region's catholic school board as trustees went back and forth trying to find the best approach to fill a vacant seat.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
It's the end of an era for one sporting goods store at Bank Street and Laurier Avenue. The owner says a lack of foot traffic downtown is behind the decision to close a store that's been operating for 41 years.
The Sandy Hill Child Care Centre has an extra two weeks to get its new home up to code months after a fire destroyed its original site on Wilbrod Street.
Windsor city council voted Monday in favour of adopting a master plan with high hopes for City Hall Square and a so-called civic esplanade stretching down to the river
A united front was on full display Monday as community leaders, politicians, business people, unions and educators gathered together at Windsor City Hall to ensure the NextStar Energy battery plant deal gets closed.
Doctors in their final year of training, called residency, can choose to do a one-month rotation at the Shelter Health Initiative (SHI) caring for Windsor’s homeless population.
Approximately 200 homes or structures have been damaged by the wildfire that began burning Sunday in the Upper Tanatallon, N.S., area, according to preliminary estimates.
One long-time electoral tradition came to an end on election day, when Postmedia announced there would be no printed newspaper announcing the winner in Calgary.
A Winnipeg family is asking for help to find their missing teenage son whom they haven't seen since he left for school in the Fort Richmond area last Wednesday morning.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
On Monday, Fraser Health provided two senior leaders to address the latest letter outlining risks to patients, allegations of muzzling, and pleas for help from emergency physicians in the health authority's hospitals.
The president of the BC Trucking Association is issuing renewed calls for safety after a trailer truck smashed into an overhead pass Monday morning in Langley.
Over 170,000 elementary and high school students weighed in on the Alberta election and the NDP had to hope the real voters were listening, because they won the kids' vote.
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. 
Durham police continue to investigate the fatal shooting of a male late Thursday night at a plaza in Oshawa. 
