Police release photo of Little Italy murder victim John Raposo

TORONTO, Ont. – UPDATE THURSDAY: Toronto police have released a photo of  John Raposo, the 35-year-old man shot to death in Little Italy on Monday.

Police said they know little about Raposo at this point, but believe he owned a tow-truck business and may have had connections to people associated with organized crime.

Detective Terry Browne with the Toronto police said they will continue to probe Raposo’s background.

“Because this is very brazen, clearly in my mind as an investigator this is a targeted attack, so the focus point right now is Mr. Raposo’s background and why this may have occurred,” Browne said.

He would not comment on whether the shooting may have been an organized crime hit, but he did say he was looking into that possibility.

“It’s certainly something that I’m looking into, I don’t really know a whole lot about him (Mr. Raposo) yet, one of the things I’m looking for is his specific background, what sort of business dealings he had, socially who he was involved with,” Browne said.

The shooting happened outside Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe, a popular gelato shop at College and Montrose, near Ossington. Investigators have stressed it was a targeted attack.

A witness told 680News the shooting may have happened on the patio.Witness said they heard five shots and saw people running and ducking behind cars.

Constable Wendy Drummond told 680News the suspect was seen running north from the cafe.

The suspect is described as male, white, six-feet tall with dirty blonde hair and a medium build. He was last seen wearing a white construction type hat, an orange safety vest with a green florescent “X” on the front and back and a white filter mask over his face.

Police service dogs were used to search the area for articles that may have been discarded by the suspect.

Const. Drummond said police are asking residents north of the cafe to check their properties for items which do not belong to them. Should any items be found, police are asking residents not to touch them and to contact police right away.

A second man also suffered non-life threatening injuries in the shooting and was transported to hospital.

The Italy-Ireland Euro Cup soccer match was being broadcast at the time of the shooting and Const. Drummond said the area was filled with people.

“This potentially could have been much worse. The area was filled with people watching the games. This cafe itself was packed with people at the time of the shooting. It was a very frightful scene for those who were here,” she said.

City Councillor for the area, Mike Layton, said he was in a meeting at City Hall when he heard the news of the shooting, which took place around the corner of his house.

Layton pointed out that although it is a frightening incident, it is not a common occurrence in the neighbourhood.

“This is a frightening situation. The police have it under control now but I think it reinforces the need for us to do everything we can to get guns out of people’s hands around the city.”

Layton said he understands people are scared, given the recent shooting at the Eaton Centre, and that people had been in the area celebrating.

“I think people are frightened and they want us to do something about it. They want their government at every level to work to get guns out of people’s hands,” he said.

One resident who was in the area at the time of the shooting told 680News something needs to be done about the gun violence in the city.

“People need to stand up. They need to start saying that’s someone’s Dad, that’s someone’s son. There were children there, that could have been your child. And if you’re not going to stop this now eventually one day, it’s going to be sad, but, it’s going to be your kid who is shot by accident. I’m sorry but that’s not an okay accident to happen,” she said.

Another area resident told 680News that she has lived in the neighbourhood for 40 years and in light of this recent shooting and rising violence, she is looking to move.

Police say there were many patrons at the cafe and the surrounding area who fled at the time of the shooting. Police would like to speak with those people regarding any information they may have. Personal belongings that were also left behind at the scene can be claimed by calling Detective Sergeant Terry Browne at 416-808-7403.

The College/Shaw branch of the Toronto Library was put under lockdown. Hold-and secures were put in place at Montrose Public School and Delta Alternative School but were lifted a short time later.

College Street remained closed in both directions between Grace Street and Crawford Avenue for several hours while police investigated. The area was reopened to traffic shortly before midnight.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Terry Browne at 416-808-7403, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).