Police investigate man's death in North York as homicide

Suspect fled before officers arrived, no description available, police said

Toronto police are investigating a homicide after a man in his early 30s died in North York on Sunday.

Officers responded to reports of a disturbance in a home near Lawrence Avenue W. and William R. Allen Road around 8:19 a.m., Toronto police said in a post on social media platform X.

A man with injuries was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. No other injuries were reported.

Officers were called to an apartment building in the area of Flemington Road and Blossom Field Drive, Det. Sgt. Sajeev Nair said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

Some people, including the suspect, fled from the fourth floor unit, he said.

"Officers secured the scene and conducted a sweep of the area, rendering the area safe for the public," he said.

The victim has not been identified yet, Nair said, saying that he was in his early 30s.

Nair could not say what the relationship was between the man and the suspect, but said the suspect was last seen heading north away from the building.

"We're not ready to release a suspect description, but what I can tell you is that this apartment building has a significant amount of video surveillance," he said. "It's only going to be a matter of time before we have a good image of the suspect."

The victim suffered a traumatic injury, Nair said, but did not say how it was inflicted.

The homicide team has taken over the investigation, police said.

Gladys Sarrazin, who lives in the neighbourhood, told CBC Toronto she doesn't go out late at night, opting instead to stay home with her daughter.

"There's so much happening," she said. "I grew up in this area and I'm seeing more now than I ever did in 60 years. So it's bad."

Ashley Shay, another neighbour, said it was an "intense" morning, adding she was "very sad to hear" about the incident.

"That's just very scary because there's a lot of kids in the area, there's two schools in the area," she told CBC Toronto. "It's just very worrisome. So hopefully the police do their due diligence and just help the family get closure and find out what's going on because this is very unacceptable."

"My son is asking me, 'what's going on, mommy?' and I'm not able to give him answers," she said.

'I'm really pissed off': councillor

Coun. Mike Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence) told CBC Toronto that work had been done in the Lawrence Heights area to address crime, including a opening mini police station, increasing Toronto Community Housing Corporation security and running youth programs.

"I was really dreading that this would happen because it's been so good," he said. "This shatters all the good work. It really makes me sick to my stomach.

Colle said he believes sentencing for serious crimes should be increased.

"We're all really disgusted and distraught and we feel so awful that another person's lost their life," Colle added.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.