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Tearful woman pleas for public help to find man who killed sister

Jelena: “best hugs ever”

Lana Loncar and her family will never get over the loss but remain hopeful that the man who shot their loved one on August 26, 2014, will be brought to justice. Police seek a black male in his 20s and about 5’11” tall. He had a medium build and gold grills in his teeth and is wanted in connection to Jelena’s murder; a composite sketch of the suspect has been released.

“I could tell you how my sister was literally always happy and she gave the best hugs ever, but none of that will change what happened and none of that will bring her back,” a tearful Lana told the press conference at police headquarters.

“The reality of the situation is that her life was taken from her by somebody who had a choice,’ she added. “He chose to shoot his gun into a crowd of people and take the risk of killing an innocent person.”

She appealed for information. Like the police, she believes there are people out there who know who took her sister’s life and begged them to come forward. Lana said her sister was a wonderful person and that her killer deserves to be apprehended for his callous actions. She called him “a coward.”

Shooting at nightclub

Jelena, 32, was on her way home from working a shift at a downtown restaurant on that night two years ago when she stopped to pass on birthday greetings to a friend at a nightclub, the C Lounge at Portland and Wellington streets. It was a Monday night, a night when the club, not known for violence, was typically populated by those who worked at other clubs and restaurants.

It was 3 a.m. and Jelena was outside the club when 3 cars drove up and several suspects exited those cars. The cars the suspects drove in are described as a “Chrysler 300 with no front plates, a dark Nissan Altima and a dark Hyundai four-door.”

“It was at this time we believe several suspects entered the crowd,” Detective Andy Singh told the news conference. “They approached two men in the crowd and attempted to rob them of gold chains they were wearing.

“They were successful in robbing one of the males,” Detective Singh said. “But the other resisted and got into a verbal altercation with the suspect who produced a firearm and discharged multiple gunshots.”

One of those gunshots hit the innocent Jelena Loncar in the chest and she collapsed. She died later in hospital, never regaining consciousness, never knowing what had happened to her.

Known to police

The man police believe to be the intended victim was also hit; shot multiple times, that man, identified as Tremaine Nigel Fraser, fled and fell to the ground nearby at a Shell gas station. The 25-year-old former college basketball player from Halifax, who in 2012 was himself up on gun charges, survived his wounds.

Police do not believe robbery was the real motive behind this tragedy and believe Fraser, who was known to police, had been targeted. They also believe Fraser knew the man who shot him. There were shots fired at another location not far from the C Lounge 25 minutes earlier that night and police believe the same suspects were involved in that incident.

“The most important piece eludes police and that’s the identification of the person responsible for firing the shot that killed Jelena,” Detective Singh said. “There are certainly one or more persons that know who is responsible for killing Jelena.”

Lana Loncar said that while she seeks justice for her sister there’s “no happy ending to this story and nothing will ever take away the pain that my family lives with each and every day.”

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the day following the press conference, another innocent bystander was gunned down in Toronto. Peggy Ann Smith, 61, was shot to death near a townhouse in the Riverdale area.

The grandmother is not believed to have been the intended target, Detective Hank Idsinga said. Multiple shots were fired and two armed young men were seen fleeing the area; police said they were unable to provide a more detailed description.

At the press conference Friday, police offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the man who killed Loncar.

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