Home invaders’ stray bullet hits sleeping man in neighbouring unit

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By JACK BOLAND and JOE WARMINGTON

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You are no longer safe from flying bullets on city streets or inside your home — even when you’re tucked in your bed.

This is something a Don Mills family man experienced Saturday when a bullet came through wall of his upstairs bedroom just before 3 a.m., grazing his knee as he slept.

The man was a victim of a home invasion and shooting on David Dunlap Circle — southeast of Don Mills Rd. and Lawrence Ave. E. — that had nothing to do with him.

Toronto Police Const. David Hopkinson reported there were a “group of men” who allegedly forced “their way into a home” in which one occupant of the townhouse was shot.

“Another person (was) struck by stray bullet,” police said.

Neither of the two shooting victims received life-threatening wounds but the incident has shaken the neighbourhood.

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It’s worth noting these victims are not related to each other in any way, other than living within close proximity. This was a matter of bullets flying from the original crime scene into another home.

Sporting a white bandage on his knee, the man explained with help from his teen daughter — because his English is limited — that he was hit by a stray bullet that flew into his bedroom as he slept.

“I heard two shots,” recalled the daughter, who was wrapped in a blanket and rubbed her eyes under her glasses. “I just woke up. I didn’t sleep much last night.”

She told The Toronto Sun she believes two bullets entered her dad’s bedroom.

“I am terrified,” she added.

As for the neighbours who were victimized by this vicious home invasion, she said, “we don’t have very much interaction with them.”

But some area residents said they were not surprised when they saw where the violence occurred.

Several said it’s not uncommon to see a Maserati, Ferrari, Bentley, and even recently a camouflage grey Lamborghini pull up to the residence for 20-minute stays.

At least six security cameras watch over the unit targetted by the home invaders — two bubble-style cameras above the front door; one pointing towards the front outdoor balcony; another watching the lower garage entrance; and a doorbell video camera; as well as another professional camera at the rear of the townhouse covering the backyard and sliding back doors.

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Hopkinson said police are searching for the home invaders who “fled in a dark car.”

One neighbour described hearing a “very strong noise … like somebody was trying to break the front door,” believed to be the shooting victim pounding on nearby doors for help as fled his home, leaving a trail of blood along the sidewalks and front steps of homes, as well as crimson handprints on front doors.

Residents of the street were busy scrubbing blood off their front steps and porches on Saturday.

“We were a little bit freaked out,” said Raj Suppaih.

His wife Shruti added when you live “right across the street” and “have little kids you start to worry.

Neighbours said about five years ago Toronto Police’s Emergency Task Force with police dogs broke through the front and back doors in what they described as a police raid.

But this shooting takes the concern to a whole new level since the incident was not contained to that unit and ended up victimizing another man and his family, who should have been safe in their own home but clearly were not.

“This is Toronto. What is going on?” one neighbour asked.

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