'You're just a coward': Toronto police release video of 2 gunmen in Etobicoke murder
Muriel Draaisma | CBC News | Posted: March 19, 2018 8:22 PM | Last Updated: March 19, 2018
Pair are believed to have killed Nnamdi Ogba, 26, whom police describe as an 'innocent' man
Toronto police have released security camera video and photos of two suspects in the murder of an innocent man who was killed while walking to his parked car on Friday night in Etobicoke.
Det. Jason Shankaran, of Toronto police's homicide squad, said police are hoping members of the public who see the images can help detectives to identify the two men responsible for the shooting death of Nnamdi Ogba, 26, of Toronto.
Police also released photos of the getaway vehicle.
Ogba, an electrical engineer, was fatally shot in the back several times on Scarlettwood Court, near Scarlett Road and Lawrence Avenue West, on Friday shortly after 11:00 p.m.
Officers found him without vital signs lying on the ground and Toronto paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Ogba, who had a fiancee, was going to be married soon.
Police have said the shooters were armed with handguns. No weapons have been recovered.
Shankaran said Ogba, who did not have a criminal record or any known gang affiliations, did not know his killers and they, in turn, did not have any interaction with Ogba before ambushing him from behind.
The detective described the killing as cowardly.
"You're not so brave. You're just a coward," Shankaran said on Monday.
The video clips, which were obtained by police from Toronto Community Housing, show the gunmen exiting from the passenger side of what looks like a newer model Nissan Rouge SUV that has pulled up and stopped.
The video clips then show the pair approaching the victim and running away after opening fire. Police obtained video showing the scene before and after the murder from three different angles.
Shankaran said Ogba, shortly before he was shot to death on the street, had left a building after visiting some friends there. The killers fled on foot from the scene and jumped in the SUV, which was waiting for them in the Scarlettwood Court community housing complex area.
Shankaran urged members of the public to pay particular attention to the clothing worn by the killers, and the two men themselves.
"I think these suspects are going to be very familiar to those that know them. And I ask that you look into your heart at this particular situation. The situation is not one gang member shooting another. It's an innocent man being gunned down walking to his car going to see his fiancee," he said.
"In this instance, Mr. Ogba did nothing to bring this onto himself. The evidence that we have in front of us tells that Mr. Ogba's lifestyle, his activities, anything he did prior to, did not lead to this particular incident. The only thing that led to his death was simply walking out of that building at that particular time and place and having these two individuals meet with him in that particular parking lot."
Police released 10 photos of the two suspects and five photos of the getaway vehicle.
Shankaran said investigators believe the two gunmen were not residents of the area and harboured "animosity" toward the neighbourhood.
Scarlettwood Court has seen its share of violence committed by people from other neighbourhoods who have come into the community to avenge perceive slights. Residents from the housing complex as well have been arrested for acts of violence in other areas, he said.
Shankaran said the death might be an act of revenge.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, or text TOR and a message to CRIMES (274637).
Ogba is Toronto's 12th homicide victim of the year.