Video of shooting
As the surveillance footage shows, a man with his head covered by a hoodie walks up from the rear of the van next to the front passenger side door and he fires two or three times; he then rushes off.
Alva Dixon, 70, of Scarborough, who was sitting in the passenger seat and hit directly with a bullet, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, also male, was hit but treated at the hospital for non-life threatening injuries and released. Police said there were others in the van but they were unharmed.
The deadly shooting took place Wednesday evening at a townhouse complex in the city’s east end at 51 Morecambe Gate, not far from Victoria Park and Finch. According to police a second man involved in the shooting was nearby keeping a look-out.
Targetted murder
While Toronto police believe it to be a targeted shooting they are considering the possibility that the wrong person was hit as they have been unable to find a motive. The victim did not live in the complex but used to and often returned to visit; residents say he was extremely well-liked.
“He was a very, very good guy,” townhouse resident Muharem Zorjan told media Thursday. “Everybody liked him. He never had a problem with anyone.”
However, Det. Jason Shankaran told media that if Dixon was not the target someone there with him was. “I believe someone in that van was the intended target,” he said. “I can’t say right now whether Alva Dixon was the intended target.”
He called the killing “pathetic and cowardly.” Dixon is the fourth Toronto homicide of the year.