Oliver Martin (left) and Dylan Ellis (right) seen in this undated photo.

At least 19 police shell case markers covered a street in downtown Toronto where two men were shot and killed early Friday.

Dylan Ellis and Oliver Martin, both 25, were killed when they were hit by a spray of gunfire as they sat in a black Range Rover parked on Richmond Street West, near Bathurst Street.

Police say they're in the preliminary part of their investigation, but it appears the two men were innocent victims of a carjacking that went wrong.

"These two victims are not at all known — and I repeat are not at all known — to the Toronto police or any police agency in Canada. And they have, certainly, based on the limited amount of information I have, are not and never have been living any kind of a high-risk criminal lifestyle whatsoever," Det.-Sgt. Gary Giroux said.

Toronto police and residents gather where a shooting resulted in the death of two people. (CBC)

Ellis and Martin were sitting in the front seats of the vehicle, buckled into their seatbelts, just after midnight when the shooting happened. When police arrived the SUV was still "in park, with the engine running," Giroux said.

In the light of day, passersby could clearly see where bullets had smashed through the windshield and the metal body of the vehicle. Police couldn't say how many bullets struck the victims.

Another person — a female — was in the Range Rover during the attack. Police described her as "a friend" of Ellis and Martin, but refused to give any further details. She survived the assault and is helping police with their investigation.

Police said the three had been at a friend's home earlier in the evening, watching the NBA finals. The trio left the home, but had to return "for an innocent reason," Giroux said. That's when the shooting happened.

"They were certainly, in my opinion, targeted," said the detective, who is leading the investigation.

"You know, as it stands right now ... it's a high-end motor vehicle that's in this particular area. Until otherwise, I'm looking at it being the most marketable thing to steal," Giroux said.

Police are looking for at least one black male seen fleeing the area on a bicycle. They say they also believe whoever was responsible for the shooting is "familiar with the area" around Niagara and Bathurst.

Giroux said the co-op buildings in the neighbourhood have security cameras and police are looking through the images those cameras captured before and after the shooting.

"I've got officers doing nothing but cameras and that's their task for the day and if it goes into the weekend, then so be it. All they're doing is searching those areas, with regards to cameras and what area they reflect," he told a news conference.

"I've never heard gunshots before in my life but it was pretty clear it was gunshots. It's really loud, really loud," Claire Manning told CBC News.

"Bloody. People were freaking out," said Heather Sanderson, describing what she saw when she ran to her apartment window after she heard shots.

The two victims had been best friends since Grade 1. Police said the families are "devastated" by the killings.

Police said Ellis was a graduate of a Quebec college and was pursuing a career in photography.

Martin was a graduate of Concordia University in Montreal and worked in the Toronto financial district.

The slayings are the 24th and 25th homicides in Toronto this year.