'We are grieving every minute': Family of Rexdale murder victim pleads for help solving son's death

The family of a father killed in a drive-by shooting at a Rexdale shopping plaza two months ago is making an emotional plea for information after homicide detectives say they haven't received any tips.

Andre Phoenix, 33, was killed on Aug. 15. He was in the parking lot, walking toward storefronts at the corner of Martin Grove Road and John Garland Boulevard with a friend to get pizza when he was "ambushed," Toronto police said. 

His murder remains unsolved, and former lead investigator Det. Jeffery Tavares told CBC Toronto on Wednesday police have not heard anything about possible suspects. 

Homicide detectives released video surveillance footage, obtained from a nearby business, during a Wednesday morning news conference of a suspect vehicle in the shooting.

It showed a white-coloured, four-door Mazda 3 circling the plaza parking lot a short time before the gunfire erupted, Det. Brandon Price told reporters. The car is believed to be a newer model. 

Phoenix's family was also in attendance, and urged anyone with potentially useful information about the slaying to call police. 

"I now have to spend the rest of my life living without my son," Phoenix's mother, Novelette, said while fighting back tears. 

"We are grieving every minute, every second and every day, and we have no answers. We need closure."  

The vehicle entered the parking lot shortly before midnight on that late summer evening and approached Phoenix, just moments after his friend walked away, Tavares previously said. ​

The vehicle "stopped short" of Phoenix, he explained, and there was an interaction between the vehicle's occupants and him.

That's when one person in the vehicle pulled out a gun and fired several shots. Phoenix was struck multiple times and collapsed in the parking lot, a news release said. 

The vehicle sped off, heading westbound on John Garland Boulevard. 

Novelette said that's when her son called her, saying: "Mom, I've been shot."

"I got the information of where he was and rushed to the location, but was unable to see him," she said.

Phoenix was rushed in life-threatening condition to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, where he later died. 

No arrests have been made in the case and police have not released a description of suspects.

Tavares said there's no indication that Phoenix, who was visiting a friend in the area, was targeted.

Instead, he explained, Phoenix was in the "wrong place at the wrong time." 

"This is not a mistaken identity case," said Tavares. "I believe this is neighbourhoods targeting neighbourhoods because there has been ongoing gun violence."

Video surveillance footage shows the vehicle allegedly used in the fatal drive-by shooting:

Father of a toddler

Phoenix's death was the city's 60th homicide.

His family described him as the "light of the party," an avid basketball player and family man, noting he had the "biggest smile ever that would light up any room."

Phoenix's daughter was nearly two when he died. She was his "pride and joy," Novelette explained. 

"If there's anyone out there who saw something, that knows something, please call the police or Crime Stoppers. I need justice for my son."

Killing comes during rash of shootings

The shooting was one of a number of gun-related homicides in Toronto in recent months. 

Other shootings that rocked the city included the wounding of two young girls when a man opened fire at a Scarborough playground in June, the brazen killing of popular rapper Smoke Dawg downtown and another man on a crowded downtown sidewalk over the Canada Day weekend and a shooting rampage on Danforth Avenue that left two dead and injured 13 others in July. 

The spate of shootings and gun-related homicides in the city prompted Toronto police to deploy an additional 200 frontline officers on the night shift in certain neighbourhoods, between July 20 and Sept. 9. 

Phoenix was among 11 people killed in shootings during the period of the boost in deployment, according to statistics on the Toronto police website. 

Forty-four people have been killed by guns in Toronto so far in 2018. 

In all of last year, that number was 39. 

"I think it's sad. Toronto is a pretty safe place and for this number of homicides it's puzzling," said Tavares. 

Certain areas in the city, like Rexdale, have been targeted in "fall outs" or "feuds" between different groups, he explained.

Police are uncertain why disputes that have been going for years between neighbourhoods — such as Willowdale where Phoenix was killed, Mt. Olive, Thistletown, Dixon and Jamestown — continue to persist , noted Tavares.

"We are seeing time and time again, incidents of innocent people being shot and the only links are the demographics of where that shooting has occurred. Not who the person is that's being shot," he said. 

Tavares believes the city's current system designed to tackle gun violence is "broken" and hopes community members and government officials will work together to develop a solution to halt a spike in deadly incidents.