Man killed in targeted shooting

Incident marks city’s 53rd homicide this year

Carbone said he believes the suspect was unknown to Hirani and was acting alone

SAMANTHA BEATTIE STAFF REPORTER Karim Hirani was standing with a couple friends outside a North York apartment building early Sunday morning when a man with a gun walked towards him and fired, police say.

After receiving multiple 911 calls, police and paramedics arrived on scene near Driftwood Ave. and Jane St. at about 3:30 a.m. They found Hirani, 25, suffering from a gunshot wound, and despite receiving lifesaving measures, he succumbed to his injuries, Det.-Sgt. Mike Carbone said Sunday evening.

“It appears it was targeted, but we don’t know why,” he said.

The suspect is described as a Black male in his mid-20s, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and dark pants. After the shooting, he left in a vehicle parked close by. Carbone said he believes the suspect was unknown to Hirani and was acting alone.

This incident marks Toronto’s 53rd homicide and 210th shooting of 2018, according to police data. Over the Canada Day long weekend and into last week, at least 10 people were shot in five days during a recent upswing in gun violence. This time last year, there were about 177 shootings.

It doesn’t appear this latest shooting is connected to the others, but Carbone is open to the possibility, he said. Hirani, a Toronto resident, didn’t live at the Toronto Community Housing building outside of which he was killed.

By mid-afternoon, the area was no longer cordoned off, but blood stains remained on the sidewalk, marked by investigators with a single line of orange paint. Police have accessed surveillance video and canvassed residents. They are now looking for one of the two men who was with Hirani when he was shot.