Father of 2 killed after gunfire erupts on busy Toronto street

Innocent bystander caught amid shootout, police say

Last Updated: Friday, January 18, 2008 | 2:12 PM ET

CBC News

Toronto police identified Hou Chang Mao, a 47-year-old father of two, as the man who was shot and killed near a busy street corner at around suppertime Thursday.

Hou Chang Mao was identified by Toronto police as the innocent man shot and killed on Gerrard Street East near Broadview Avenue on Thursday night.
(Toronto police)

The man worked at a grocery store on Gerrard Street East near Broadview Avenue and was shot in the chest around 6 p.m. Shoppers ducked for cover as bullets struck store windows and parked cars.

Mao was hit while working outside the Fu Yao supermarket, during an apparent shootout between rival groups, and later died at St. Michael's Hospital.

A post-mortem performed Friday showed he died of a gunshot wound to the chest, police say.

Describing Mao as an innocent bystander, police say he arrived from China two years ago and had just recently brought his 18-year-old daughter to Canada. Mao also has a 23-year-old son, said police.

Police said Friday they are looking for two black men — whom they described as witnesses and possibly intended targets — who drove away in a silver-coloured car with a shiny front grill.

At a news conference Friday afternoon, Det. Sgt. Pauline Gray said the killer or killers have much to answer for.

Toronto police Insp. Peter Yuen stressed that the area where the shooting took place is a good place to live work and visit.
(CBC)

"Even they have to understand the depth of what they've done," Gray said. "They've killed an innocent man."

Speaking to reporters, she had a message for the killers.

"You ask me what I'd say to them? 'I've got you on camera,'" Gray said bluntly. "Somewhere, somehow, in the hundreds of hours we're about to look at, we'll find you in there."

Residents worry about safety

Meanwhile, area residents gathered near the crime scene Friday expressed outrage at the shooting.

"When people start pulling this stuff in broad daylight without any regard for citizens because they don't care, because they know they're going to get a slap on the wrist...that's the problem," said longtime resident Stan Gruska.

Others, like Jerry Duffet, said that unfortunately it's part of life in an increasingly violent city.

"When you're younger, it's a shocking thing, it's terrible. But as you get older and you see so much of it, it's a desensitizing thing, unfortunately, but that's just the way it is," he told CBC News.

Toronto Mayor David Miller repeated his call for a ban against all handguns in Toronto when speaking to the media Friday.
(CBC)

But Toronto Mayor David Miller doesn't agree.

"I know that area very well," he said Friday morning. "And it goes without saying that someone has the right to safely go to work without people engaging in gun battles."

At a news conference later in the day Friday, the mayor repeated calls for a ban against all handguns in Toronto.

Last weekend, 42-year-old John O'Keefe was shot in the head as he walked by a downtown Toronto club after a night out with friends. Police said the victim was not the intended target.

Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with that incident.