The mother of a 21-year-old man gunned down in the east-end over the weekend says a part of her has died since losing her son.
Tyrone Tomlinson was on his way to visit his own three-year-old son on Saturday night when he was shot dead on Langford Avenue, just north of Danforth Avenue.
Paramedics rushed him to hospital in critical condition where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Tomlinson’s mother, Princess Mcfaquhar, told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday that his death has torn the family apart.
“I have lost my son,” she said while wiping away tears. “He died with a part of me.”
Keith Tomlinson, Tyrone’s father, described his son as someone with an “infectious” personality who had big plans for the future.
“It is absolutely heart-wrenching to lose a child. He had plans. He had plans for the future and this, out of all, hurts to know… when a child is planning something,” he said.
“He had a roadmap to the future and somebody snatched that away from him.”
Tomlinson said his son was in the process of applying to school so he could one day become an elevator technician.
He said Tyrone was working at a local Sobeys in the meantime to save money and support his young son. The boy currently lives with his mother at the home Tyrone was visiting when the shooting took place.
“This is the most traumatic thing a person can go through, to bury one’s child,” he said. “No one ever plans for this, no one ever envisions something like this. This is truly a tragedy.”
Bullet casings littered the sidewalk at the scene that night where witnesses reported hearing three or four gunshots ring out. Police said that based on information at the scene, Tomlinson was shot multiple times.
Though the investigation is ongoing, police believe a suspect fled the area on foot wearing dark clothing and was possibly carrying a knapsack-style bag.
Investigators canvassed the neighbourhood Sunday and heard from witnesses who said the suspect was last seen running between homes before jumping a fence.
Mcfaquhar said she can’t begin to fathom how her grandson will cope growing up without Tomlinson.
“He loves his dad and his dad loved him dearly,” she said. “What is going to happen to the baby now that he has no father?”
The family pleaded with the perpetrator to turn themselves into police.
“What do you got to say? What can I say? There is nothing I can say, man,” Tomlinson said through tears. “Turn yourself in. That’s what I can say. Turn yourself in.”
The family has also set up an online campaign to help pay for funeral expenses.
Anyone with information about the fatal shooting is being asked to contact Toronto police.
