Witness to murder

When Joseph heard a volley of gunfire in the middle of the afternoon on May 10, he looked to see what had happened.

That’s when he saw the killers.

Not only did he see a man lying motionless on the ground, but he watched with others as the suspects ran from the west end of the Cooper Mills townhome complex where the shooting took place, back toward a car wash, a business that abuts the east end of the complex at 4020 Dundas St. W.

This is how Joseph, who didn’t want his full name used, recounted what he witnessed to a Town Crier reporter a week later.

At the scene of the shooting, he saw a crowd of people gathered around the victim, later identified by police as 27-year-old Delano
Coombs.

When fire crews arrived he saw the victim, who had suffered gunshots wounds to his chest, abdomen, shoulder and face. Coombs’ eyes were just half-open, he said.

Even though the shooting happened quickly, Joseph said he got a good look at the suspects. They are well known in the neighbourhood as drug dealers, frequenting an area known as the Jamaican Dungeon, which is where a lot of the dealing and partying takes place, he said.

Joseph had spoken to police shortly after the shooting, but this was the first time he revealed he knew the perpetrators, he said.

Police said they would not confirm this, as it involved witness testimony.