21-year-old man shot to death in Toronto LCBO parking lot after social distancing dispute
A 21-year-old man is dead and another young man is in custody today after a dispute at a Scarborough LCBO that led to Toronto's 60th homicide of 2020.
Toronto Police say they were called to 3111 Danforth Avenue, just east of Victoria Park, around 5:32 p.m. on Sunday following reports of a shooting.
Two men had been arguing inside of a liquor store at the location prior to gunshots being fired, according to police.
Exact details regarding the nature of the altercation have yet to be released, but police sources told several reporters Monday morning that the fight broke out "over social distancing."
An active scene outside the Danforth @LCBO where Jakub Sudomericky, Toronto’s latest murder victim was fatally shot. Police sources tell @globalnewsto the verbal altercation with the accused was over social distancing inside the store and spilled out into the parking lot pic.twitter.com/Y2fi4FXr6w
— Catherine McDonald (@cmcdonaldglobal) October 26, 2020
"A 21-year-old man was at a store making a purchase. A 20-year-old man and a woman were also making a purchase at the same store," reads a release from the Toronto Police Service issued on Monday. "A verbal argument occurred between the two men."
Police say that the 21-year-old man left the store after his purchase. The 20-year-old couple did the same after completing their own purchase.
"A short time after," the 21-year-old was seen running through the LCBO parking lot. Gun shots were heard and the young man was found on the ground, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
Meanwhile, a civilian witness noticed the suspect vehicle and alerted police, according to TPS Detective Amanda Thornton. Officers found the car eight minutes later, roughly 2 km away, and arrested a suspect.
Homicide 60/2020
— Homicide Squad (@TPSHomicide) October 26, 2020
Oct 25th, police responded a shooting at 3111 Danforth Ave.
Jakub Sudomericky, 21, was located suffering from a gunshot wound.
With the help of witnesses, Michael Roberts, 20, was located within 8 minutes. He was arrested & charged with First Degree Murder. pic.twitter.com/e0jsbU8Qx4
Twenty-year-old Michael Roberts of Toronto has been charged with first degree murder in connection with the case. The victim was identified by police on Monday as Jakub Sudomericky, 21.
The victim's place of residence was not mentioned in the release, but Thornton told reporters during a press conference Monday afternoon that Sudomericky is believed to be from Wasaga Beach.
Thornton also confirmed that both the victim and the suspect were wearing masks inside the store, and that their argument was not about the use of face masks specifically.
The exact nature of the altercation inside the LCBO and the shooting that took place afterward remain under investigation.
Join the conversation Load comments