Man slain near Trinity Bellwoods Park targeted
By Rob Lamberti
But what Toronto Police don't know is the motive behind the shooting murder of Jefflin Beals, 25, of Dartmouth, N.S., who arrived in the city Friday from Halifax, Det.-Sgt. Wayne Banks said.
Beals was driving a car slowly northbound on Crawford St. near Lobb Ave., possibly preparing to park when a lone male approached the vehicle and opened fire at 3:12 a.m. Sunday, he said.
Banks said Beals was struck a number of times.
Beals managed to get out of the vehicle in a bid to escape and stumbled between two homes on Crawford where he collapsed.
"Obviously, it was not random," Banks said, describing the shooting as "very targeted."
He said it's not clear whether Beals — who is known to police in Halifax — was the target or if the killer targeted the car not realizing it was Beals driving it.
The car is registered to someone else, who is not known to police, Banks said.
A neighbour said he was roused from sleep when he thought he heard a string of firecrackers go off. He said he heard about four or five shots. Other neighbours refused to talk about the city's 36th murder of the year.
Banks said detectives here are speaking with their counterparts in Halifax in a bid to determine what the victim was doing in Toronto and if the motive behind the slaying is linked to anything happening there.
He said the investigation is in its early stages. It was not known where the victim was staying in Toronto.
The victim's family were on their way to Toronto on Monday, Banks said.
Man slain near Trinity Bellwoods Park targeted | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
