Police looking for at least 2 suspects in fatal shooting of 20-year-old man

Toronto police are looking for two, possibly three, suspects in the shooting death of a 20-year-old accounting student in North York who detectives say had “a promising future” and was a “very well-respected young man.”

Hashim Omar Hashi was shot multiple times as he drove his car into the parking garage at 40 Falstaff Avenue near Jane Street on Jan 31. When emergency crews arrived on the scene, he was pronounced dead.

Police said the suspect’s vehicle was found a short time later, fully engulfed in flames at Earl Bales Park.

Det. Sgt. Ted Lioumanis said they are looking for at least two suspects, the driver and the lone shooter in the incident, but are looking into possibilities there was a third or fourth suspect present.

It was the city’s fifth homicide of the year.

Det. Lioumanis said Hashi was not involved in any gang activity and had no gang affiliation. At this point, he said there is nothing to suggest Hashi was targeted for who he person was. They are still working to determine a motive for the shooting.

“Are we looking at a case of mistaken identity? … We are looking at that or is it something we haven’t fleshed out yet,” said Det. Lioumanis when asked if he considered the shooting a random act of violence.

Hashi was an accounting student at Humber College who worked part-time at the airport. He was returning alone to 40 Falstaff from a quick dinner with friends when he was shot.

A spokesperson for the Hashi family, youth counsellor Ahmed Urur, called Hashim “an amazing beautiful soul who was always smiling and eternally filled with joy.”

“He lived his life simple and loved full and this is why his death has hit a lot of community members,” said Urur

His family described Hashi as “kind, humble and hard-working young man and a loving son and brother.”

“He was not someone who let the stigma of neighbourhood shape him or stunt his character,” added Urur.

Last Sunday, Urur said while they were sheltering from a global pandemic, they were “once again reminded of another epidemic, gun violence.”

“One that has and continues to rear it’s ugly head and has shown us just how frequent and routine it has become in our city. But let us remember there is nothing normal about senseless and tragic killings,” said Urur. “We are losing too many of our young men … We cannot and will not accept this as our new normal.”