Man charged in Woodbridge, Ont., shooting that killed toddler, mother

A man has been charged with murder after a toddler and mother were killed and two others were injured in what police are calling a targeted shooting inside a Woodbridge home on Friday.

York Regional Police Const. Lisa Moskaluk identified those killed as two-year-old Marcus Vu, and his mother, 40-year-old Thi Trang Do.

“I have a two-year-old child that is just two months older than this child,” Moskaluk said in an interview Saturday. 

“So I can imagine the way that our community must feel and the people that live in this neighborhood that know this family.”

On Friday, police said the service received multiple calls about the sound of gunfire at the residence on Casa Nova Drive just before 9 a.m. 

Officers arrived to find four people suffering from gunshot wounds. The mother was pronounced dead inside the home, while the three others were taken to hospital, Moskaluk said. The toddler was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the remaining two victims are in stable condition, Moskaluk said.

A 41-year-old Toronto man has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, police said in a news release Saturday. 

“He is believed to have known the victims and what that relationship is exactly is something our investigators are working through, but they do believe that this is a targeted incident,” Moskaluk said.

Anyone with information, or relevant home security or dashcam video, is asked to contact York police or to leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers.

Neighbour hears gunshots

A neighbour who only gave his last name told CBC Toronto he heard more than a dozen gunshots.

“Just a repeated bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Like it wasn’t too, too fast…. right after the other,” said Lorenzo.

Lorenzo said he witnessed a man leaving the house where the shooting happened, get into a white SUV and drive off.

“Not in a rush, nothing. He walked into his car, hopped in and he just left like it was a regular day,” he said.

This isn’t the first time police have been called to this house.

Multiple neighbours told CBC Toronto two vehicles were lit on fire in the homes’s driveway on Christmas Day.

A Crimestoppers video that includes security camera footage of the incident showed a man driving up to the house on an electric scooter, pouring an accelerant onto a vehicle parked in the driveway of the home, and then setting it on fire. The fire spread from the first vehicle to one next to it, according to the Crimestoppers video.

Moskaluk said while she is aware of a Crimestoppers report of an arson on the same street, she isn’t aware of any relationship between those vehicles and the victims of the shooting.

“That is something that our investigators will look at,” she said.

“We’ll look at any other incidents that may have occurred even in the neighborhood that may be related. Anything like that, our investigators will be going through thoroughly.”

2nd shooting in Vaughan this week

The quadruple shooting comes just days after a 21-year-old woman was killed in a separate shooting Tuesday outside Vaughan Mills mall, just a few kilometres away. Two men were charged in connection with that shooting.

“Both of those incidents are targeted and that is something that I hope does bring some ease to our community,” Moskaluk said.

“We do have suspects in both of those cases under arrest. They are being questioned. They are in the appropriate place that they need to be.”

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca said in a phone interview that it’s been a “tough week” for Vauaghan residents as a result of the two shootings.

“To have both happen so close to one another was … a shock to me,” he said.

Del Duca said many residents have expressed concern to him about gun crime in the area.

“Gun crime, as I said in my statement today, is absolutely unacceptable. It’s an abomination,” he said.

“Every level of government needs to do more to keep these criminals off our streets and behind bars.”