The second of two victims from a shooting at a cafe in Vaughan, Ont., arrive at trauma centre in Toronto on Wednesday, June 24, 2015. Four people were shot at Moka cafe on Highway 7 near Islington Avenue in Vaughan.Victor Biro/The Canadian Press
A brazen 8 a.m. shooting at a café north of Toronto has left two people dead, two more in hospital and police on the hunt for a suspect.
The incident at Moka, an espresso and gelato bar, is one in a string of violent crimes in the neighbourhood recently. Residents speak in fearful terms of the café and its regular customers.
Police received a report shortly after 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday of a shooting at the Moka café in the suburb of Woodbridge at Highway 7 and Islington Avenue.
Maria Voci, 47, and 24-year-old Christopher Desimone, both of Vaughan, were pronounced dead at the scene, said Constable Andy Pattenden of York Regional Police. He said one of the wounded people had life-threatening injuries, and the other was in stable condition.
The suspect is a man with "darker skin," who was seen fleeing south on Islington Avenue in a dark-coloured compact vehicle, Constable Pattenden said.
Debris could be seen scattered in the parking lot outside the café on Wednesday as police taped off the area for the investigation and closed down nearby stores. A neon "Open" sign continued to blink at the café.
Area residents suggested the café felt suspicious and wasn't the kind of place people would take their families.
Arturo Troian, who lives around the corner, said Moka has been a thorn in his side for some time.
"I'm living here for 38 years and it never happened before, anything, before they opened," he said.
Fancy cars, such as Ferraris, often glistened in the parking lot outside Moka, Mr. Troian said, as their owners hung out inside.
"People who are not working during the day and wearing a big gold chain around their neck," he said. "Where do they get the money?"
Mr. Troian said he and his wife are contemplating moving from Woodbridge after decades of calling it their home.
"Maybe this [shooting] will give me a push to move," he said.
The owners of the strip mall that includes the café and other shops are listed as Mirella and Marcello Miceli. Attempts to contact them were unsuccessful.
Three other fatal shootings occurred within kilometres of the area last year.
A man was killed in a daytime shooting outside a Regina Road café at Martin Grove Road and Highway 7. Italian prosecutors said the victim, 56-year-old Carmine Verduci, had ties to an Italy-based organized crime network.
Less than two weeks later, Ritesh Thakur, 41, was gunned down outside a HomeSense near Highway 7 and Weston Road. And 36-year-old Sarhad Sadiq was shot dead outside Baggio's Café near Martin Grove and Highway 7 in June, 2014.
Police have released little information about possible motives for Wednesday's shooting or any connections between the victims and the suspect. Even though the man is still at large after opening fire in a public place, police say the community is not at risk.
"This appears to have been an isolated incident," Constable Pattenden said.
Police have been accessing video surveillance in the area, but are asking anyone with information, especially people who may have been driving through with a dashboard camera on their car, to contact them.
"Eight o'clock in the morning is a busy time in this neighbourhood, for sure," Constable Pattenden said.
Gennaro Debellis lives across the street from the café and said he was having a coffee when he heard about 10 gunshots.
At first, he thought someone was banging on a metal sign on his fence.
"I could hear, like, metal tapping. That's what it sounded like. I looked up and said, 'That's a little too fast to swing a hammer,'" Mr. Debellis said.
He said he went to look and saw a car speed off.
A woman who did not identify herself arrived at the scene in tears, saying she was looking for her husband, who was in the café.
"His car is right there. So where is he?" she asked bystanders.