TORONTO -- A 22-year-old Toronto university student, shot at least 10 times while taking out the trash, was allegedly killed by a cowardly masked suspect possibly hunting for anyone in his way, police said.
Jeremy Vincent Urbina, who police believe was not known to the suspects, was shot in the parking lot of a housing complex near Finch Avenue and Leslie Street at around 8 p.m. on Dec. 11 and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said at a news conference Thursday that investigators have interviewed a number of witnesses and viewed extensive surveillance video in the area after the student at the Ontario of College of Art and Design University was killed.
Det.-Sgt. Terry Browne told reporters that two masked suspects were seen lurking inside a housing complex for about six minutes around 8:01 p.m. and appeared to be looking for a specific person or just anyone in their way.
Around 8:07 p.m., police said Urbina was seen in video surveillance footage leaving his building to take out garbage, wrapped in many layers of clothing due to the cold weather.
Browne said the two suspects spotted Urbina walking back from the dumpster and one of them allegedly approached him from behind, and without any interaction, fired numerous shots.
“It’s my investigative belief that the shooters did not know who Mr. Urbina was," Browne said. "It’s our investigative belief that these two individuals were there possibly looking for an individual, or more disturbingly, they could have been looking for anyone who was there."
Police were called by 8:08 p.m. and when they arrived, they found Urbina suffering from more than 10 gunshot wounds.
“I have been in the homicide unit for 16 years and I’ve probably seen everything that human beings can do to each other, but I’ve never seen someone actually appear to look around, to actually hunt down another human being,” Browne said.
“This was nothing short of being callous, cowardly and evil … Mr. Urbina did not see this coming, Mr. Urbina has no history with us.”'
“This is one of the most callous killings I have ever witnessed in this office.”
Urbina, the youngest of three brothers, was a second-year integrated media student at the university. His family said he loved the arts and theatre.
“You see pictures of Mr. Urbina, a full life ahead of him … loved by all, he just happened to be throwing his garbage out at that time, at that moment,” Browne said. “Two minutes earlier, two minutes later, and he’s not likely the victim.”
His sister-in-law told CTV News Toronto at his funeral on Wednesday that he had “this very vibrant energy” and was relaxed and could easily poke fun at himself.
On Thursday, police released two surveillance camera images of the suspects. One is a close up of a young male’s face wearing a pink mask and a hood.
“It would be surprising to me if someone wasn’t able to identify the person in these images,” Browne said.
Browne appealed to the man he believes did not pull the trigger, saying that while he is now considered party to the offence, he could turn himself in with a lawyer and cooperate to bring the alleged shooter to justice.
The first suspect was wearing a dark-coloured hooded sweatshirt and dark-coloured pants, investigators said, and the second suspect was wearing all dark clothing.
“This was a ridiculous violent, evil act and, we as a community, have to do our part in identifying these individual and getting them off the street,” Browne said.
Urbina’s older brother, Jasper, told CTV News Toronto on Thursday that he felt a lot of anger after listening to the police’s news conference and learning that his brother was shot 10 times.
“My friend had to calm me down, because I was pretty upset,” he said. “It’s a flurry of emotions.”
He said that when he looked at the photographs of the suspects released by police, he could “feel the animosity and anger.”
“My main thought is what if it wasn’t my brother, what if it was a child?” Jasper said. “It could have been anyone else. It could have been an elderly person. Unfortunately it was my brother, but it could have been worse.”
“If you recognize those features, please, just put me and my family at ease. Help the police. This should not be something that happens to anyone.”
Anyone with further information is asked to contact officers at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
