Police say innocent victim in Mississauga nightclub shooting was waiting in line, appeal to witnesses

Police are asking for the public’s help locating a suspect vehicle in a fatal Mississauga nightclub shooting and confirm that the young woman killed was an innocent bystander.

In an update on Tuesday morning from Peel Region Police headquarters, officials say 19-year-old Raneilia Richards was waiting in line with friends at Jungle Event Space near Dixie Road and Eglinton Avenue when she was gunned down in the early morning hours of Dec. 31.

“There is nothing to suggest that she was the intended target,” says homicide Insp. Phil King. “We are exploring every other reason that the shooting occurred.”

Investigators are looking for the driver and occupants of a grey SUV that was seen leaving the area around the time of the shooting. Police are also asking members of the public with any information to contact the Homicide and Missing Person Bureau.

“We are hoping there is video out there that we would like to see,” says Custance, adding they believe other people who were in line at the time could have video, or people driving on Eglinton around the time of the incident may have dashcam footage.

Monday was supposed to be Richards’ first day at college, according to Peel police chief Nishan Duraiappah. He said she was planning to embark on a career in the travel and aviation industry.

“What she deserves is to be remembered for the bright and exuberant young woman she was in life,” Duraiappah says. “Not for the tragic circumstances surrounding her death, which was simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Nightclub shut down permanently

Police say the shooting happened during a ticketed party at the Jungle Event Space, and there were more than a hundred people outside the nightclub at the time.

No other injuries were reported.

The owners of the venue have chosen to permanently shut down the business in light of the incident, according to police.

Police noted during their update Tuesday that the Jungle Event Space and the HER Adult Entertainment Club, a prior venue in the same location, have had numerous incidents of violence over the past number of years.

Officers were called to the area last month for a shooting that sent one person to hospital.

Prior to HER being permanently closed last September, police said they had been called to the nightclub and surrounding area more than two dozen times since January 2021 for violent incidents, including five shootings.