Toronto police identify 90th homicide victim of year
Toronto police have identified a man shot to death in a Scarborough apartment building on Sunday.
Cardinal Licorish, 23, of Ajax, was found suffering from gunshot wounds in a stairwell of the building at 4175 Lawrence Avenue East, at Kingston Road.
He was not conscious and not breathing, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Sunday, police said they were called to the 14-storey building at 1:23 p.m. after they received a report of gunshots.
Officers with 43 Division were nearby at the time and arrived at the building four minutes later. They searched the building and found Licorish.
Police also found shell casings.
Members of the Emergency Task Force (ETF) were called to search the building as well, according to Const. David Hopkinson, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service.
Officers went through the building, floor by floor.
"The ETF were tasked with clearing the building, searching for any other victims and the shooter," Hopkinson said in an email to CBC Toronto on Monday.
A post-mortem exam will be held on Tuesday.
Police have not released any suspect descriptions. They are calling for witnesses to the shooting to come forward.
Hopkinson would not say if a weapon has been recovered.
Homicide Detective Paul Worden said on Sunday that Licorish did not live in the building, but he had friends there and was well-known to its residents.
"We do know from the little bit of surveillance video we've watched so far that he was with three or four other parties prior to his murder," he said.
"We haven't identified those people yet but they know who they are."
Police are now reviewing video taken from outside of the building.
"We do have a direction of travel of some people that were seen leaving the building shortly after the murder, and we would like to track their whereabouts," Worden said.
Police tow away black minivan with no plates
On Sunday, police towed away a black minivan with no licence plates and that was marked as evidence.
Worden said that the vehicle did not belong to the victim and that police do not believe it was directly involved in the crime.
Residents interviewed by CBC Toronto on Sunday say the building has been the scene of violence and illegal activity before.
Licorish's death marks the 90th homicide in Toronto this year, the most in any one year the city has faced. The previous record was 89 killings in 1991.
This year's tally includes 10 victims of the van attack on Yonge Street and the fatal shootings of a young girl and woman in the summer shooting rampage on the Danforth.
Anyone with information about Sunday's homicide is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
