The deadly drumbeat of firearms has not missed a day in Toronto. Tuesday it was the shocking daylight shooting of a man in a white Range Rover parked in Cowbell Lane near Yonge St and Eglinton Ave. Police say two men fired six shots at the victim shortly before 3 p.m. in the busy lane which is bookended by the Salvation Army Citadel on the north and Soudan Ave at the south. The victim, who was dead at the scene, may be a resident or regular visitor to the Quantum Condominium South which sits between Cowbell and Yonge. His car is seen there regularly. Superintendent Reuben Stroble, the new top officer at 53 Division, has been met with a violent welcome to his new posting. He vowed that the killers will be captured. The suspects were dressed in “construction vests”. One such vest was said to have been orange, the other green. Readers of The South Bayview Bulldog commented that this seemed to be a hitman’s typical gear. Regardless, the killers escaped in a black sedan, possibly a Honda. CTV’s John Musselman said that a woman dog-walker had been parked near the shooting scene with several animals aboard her van. She was seen from a helicopter shot being escorted away by police and the dogs placed in a police vehicle. The writing of the Toronto Star’s Evelyn Kwong and Dan Taekema reflected the intrusion of a terrible reality into the lives of people living nearby. Their story begins: “Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Then silence.” It goes on to describe the reaction of residents including some who said they would move away from the area.
Construction vests, eh? Definitely a mob hit, given that those vests are a hitman’s staple.