Two dead after Vaughan shooting
Man and woman shot inside SUV early Friday
A man and a woman are dead following an overnight shooting in Vaughan.
Police have identified the victims as Cosimo Commisso, 33, of Woodbridge and Chantelle Almedia, 26, of Toronto.
Commisso lived in his parents’ home and helped run the family’s high-end restaurants on Woodbridge Ave. in Woodbridge and Cumberland St. in Yorkville.
Both victims were reportedly shot at around12:45 a.m. as they sat in a white SUV on a residential street near Highway 27 and Martin Grove Road.
Early Friday morning, the body of the male victim could be seen under a tarp on the driveway, with the vehicle’s windows shot out on both sides and glass on the pavement below the driver’s door.
A neighbour down the street, Ijaz Ahmad, said he was sitting on the computer when he saw a man fire at the SUV.
“After he fired, then noises came up — screaming,” Ahmad said. “Then the guy did it again.”
Ahmad said the man then shot inside the car and the car window was broken.
Soon after, another car raced up to the home in the family neighbourhood, he said.
“Someone got out of the car and started to cry,” Ahmad said. Police arrived at the house about 15 minutes later, he said.
Ahmad said the neighbourhood of million-dollar detached brick homes — which is home to a large number of Pakistani and Italian families — tends to stick together by ethnic group.
He said he had some contact with the people who lived in the house when one of their dogs scared his wife. “He said sorry,” Ahmad said. Manjit Ghotra, another neighbour, said he was up last night when he heard noises outside.
“We heard a sound like a firecracker, but the sound was a little different,” he said.
Ghotra said he heard four to five of these sounds and it startled him, so he ran outside.
“All of the neighbourhood was out,” Ghotra said.
Ghotra said the family in the house was pleasant, but he didn’t know them well. He also said that the neighbourhood had always been calm and safe, even late at night.
Half a dozen police vehicles, including a command post, could be seen blocking off the street for the investigation.
“There are only two ways in and out of the quiet residential street,” Staff Sgt. Dave Mitchell of York Regional Police said. “Somebody’s got to know something.”
Houses line one side of the street, with a treed area on the opposite side.
Police are appealing for residents to come forward with any dash cam or home security video, or anything else that might aid police in the investigation.
“We don’t have any suspect information just yet,” Mitchell said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the homicide unit at 1-866-876-5423 ext. 7865, email homicide@yrp.ca, or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-TIPS.
The neighbourhood had always been calm and safe, even late at night