From The Star.
Murder suspect carried gun openly
Peel homicide detectives are continuing to review surveillance video of the Mississauga strip plaza where Amandeep Kaur Dhillon was found slain New Year’s morning.
The 22-year-old woman was found stabbed to death in the family-run Airport Foods on Airport Rd., near Barrie Rd., about 10:45 a.m.
The dead woman’s father-in-law was also injured and remains under police guard in hospital.
A nearby shopkeeper said video from his surveillance cameras showed a person entering the store about an hour before the homicide was discovered.
Toronto's first homicide victim fought with three men before they followed him out of massage parlour
Seconds before Johnny Gewarges Youkhana became Toronto's first murder victim of 2009, three men – one holding a handgun – were seen exiting the lobby of a massage parlour in the city's north end, security footage shows.
Youkhana was found dead with gunshot wounds in front of the two-level strip plaza on Milvan Dr., just north of Finch Ave. W., at around 3:15 a.m. Saturday.
"It's sad enough in our city when we have a very small amount of people who arm themselves, but this was very brazen," said Det. Sgt. Gary Grinton of the Toronto Police Homicide Squad at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
"(The suspect) seems not to care that people in the spa see him with a gun."
The footage, which police showed at Sunday's press conference, was recorded by security cameras inside and outside the second-floor massage parlour at 9 Milvan Dr.
The video shows a black man, believed to be in his early 20s, openly holding a handgun in his right hand as he walks through the lobby of the massage parlour.
He is wearing a white ball cap and a red winter coat with the letters "PR" or "BR" in large gothic lettering on the back.
As he leaves the massage parlour, two other men follow him out.
One of the followers is believed to be of Indian descent, likely from the West Indies, Trinidad or Guyana, based on witness accounts concerning the man's accent.
Police believe he is between the ages of 18 and 25, has a husky build and is between 5 ft. 8 in. and 6 ft. tall.
The second follower is described as Asian, around 5 ft. 8 in. tall, with a slim build.
Cameras also recorded the three men driving away in a silver SUV, either a Nissan Pathfinder or a Toyota 4Runner.
Police believe there was a brief physical altercation inside the massage parlour before Youkhana was followed outside by the three suspects and shot.
Grinton said Youkhana, an Iraqi native who immigrated to Canada after the first Gulf War and who worked as a general labourer at a body shop, was known to police for "minor reasons," but did not elaborate.
Grinton said he believes the massage parlour was coincidental to the crime.
But area resident Kleber Monserrate doesn't agree.
"It's the type of customers massage parlours attract that are the problem," Monserrate, 38, said yesterday, standing near two frozen puddles of blood in front of the strip mall, just steps from where Youkhana's body was found.
"The girls sit out front almost naked. These places attract criminals."
Murder suspect carried gun openly
Peel homicide detectives are continuing to review surveillance video of the Mississauga strip plaza where Amandeep Kaur Dhillon was found slain New Year’s morning.
The 22-year-old woman was found stabbed to death in the family-run Airport Foods on Airport Rd., near Barrie Rd., about 10:45 a.m.
The dead woman’s father-in-law was also injured and remains under police guard in hospital.
A nearby shopkeeper said video from his surveillance cameras showed a person entering the store about an hour before the homicide was discovered.
Toronto's first homicide victim fought with three men before they followed him out of massage parlour
Seconds before Johnny Gewarges Youkhana became Toronto's first murder victim of 2009, three men – one holding a handgun – were seen exiting the lobby of a massage parlour in the city's north end, security footage shows.
Youkhana was found dead with gunshot wounds in front of the two-level strip plaza on Milvan Dr., just north of Finch Ave. W., at around 3:15 a.m. Saturday.
"It's sad enough in our city when we have a very small amount of people who arm themselves, but this was very brazen," said Det. Sgt. Gary Grinton of the Toronto Police Homicide Squad at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
"(The suspect) seems not to care that people in the spa see him with a gun."
The footage, which police showed at Sunday's press conference, was recorded by security cameras inside and outside the second-floor massage parlour at 9 Milvan Dr.
The video shows a black man, believed to be in his early 20s, openly holding a handgun in his right hand as he walks through the lobby of the massage parlour.
He is wearing a white ball cap and a red winter coat with the letters "PR" or "BR" in large gothic lettering on the back.
As he leaves the massage parlour, two other men follow him out.
One of the followers is believed to be of Indian descent, likely from the West Indies, Trinidad or Guyana, based on witness accounts concerning the man's accent.
Police believe he is between the ages of 18 and 25, has a husky build and is between 5 ft. 8 in. and 6 ft. tall.
The second follower is described as Asian, around 5 ft. 8 in. tall, with a slim build.
Cameras also recorded the three men driving away in a silver SUV, either a Nissan Pathfinder or a Toyota 4Runner.
Police believe there was a brief physical altercation inside the massage parlour before Youkhana was followed outside by the three suspects and shot.
Grinton said Youkhana, an Iraqi native who immigrated to Canada after the first Gulf War and who worked as a general labourer at a body shop, was known to police for "minor reasons," but did not elaborate.
Grinton said he believes the massage parlour was coincidental to the crime.
But area resident Kleber Monserrate doesn't agree.
"It's the type of customers massage parlours attract that are the problem," Monserrate, 38, said yesterday, standing near two frozen puddles of blood in front of the strip mall, just steps from where Youkhana's body was found.
"The girls sit out front almost naked. These places attract criminals."
