1 dead after double shooting in Mississauga plaza
A man is dead and another man has been injured in an overnight shooting in Mississauga on Thursday.
In a news conference Thursday morning at the scene of the shooting, Peel police say they received a call for a shooting at 2:43 a.m. in the Dixie Road and Queensway East area.
A man was pronounced dead at the scene while the second victim, also an adult male, was found with non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a trauma centre.
Const. Nikhil Chakravarthy said there is no concern for public safety. Police tape has been set up around a small, commercial plaza containing a hair salon, a dental clinic and gym, among other shops.
“The current working theory that we have is that there are suspects involved that are not the victims and that they are exclusively the victims. So it’s the theory in place right now that they did not shoot at each other,” Chakravarthy said, adding that the two victims were located a short distance apart from each other. Police did not provide the exact location of where the men were shot.
Business owners gathered together near the south end of the plaza to discuss what happened, telling the Star it was a “frustrating” way to wake up on a Thursday morning.
Edwin Steel, an owner of one of the businesses in the Queensway plaza, says he works seven days a week.
Security video taken at the time of the shooting, shared by Steel and viewed by the Star, appears to capture a black pickup truck circling around. Gunshots can be heard on the video. Peel police, when asked if a vehicle was involved in the shooting, did not provide details or confirmation.
Steel describes the video as “unsettling,” worrying that if the incident had happened just a few hours later, he or other business owners opening up shop could have been caught in the crossfire.
While Queensway Plaza only has a few storefronts, there is no shortage of security cameras, Steel said, and questions why anyone would do a such a thing in “plain sight.”
Steel said the plaza was the scene of a previous shooting a year ago that sent four people to hospital with gunshot wounds, though Peel police would not confirm this in Thursday’s press conference.
“The circumstances surrounding why the victims were here, why the suspects were here and what transpired right before the shooting occurred will be part of the investigation,” Chakravarthy said.
When asked about why there was such a large police presence, the officer said the area is heavily industrial and officers will adjust the cordoned-off areas as their investigation continues.
“There are a number of local businesses in the area that will be included in the investigators’ canvass as they look around for both surveillance footage as well as persons that might have been in the area,” Chakravarthy said.
As of late Thursday afternoon, there was still a heavy police presence, the plaza was still taped off except for the south parking lot and there was a command centre set up. Several businesses on the north end of the plaza remained closed.