A 46-year-old Canadian man was shot to death trying to defend his wife and three children from masked home invaders early Sunday morning.
Abdul Aleem Farooqi was already dead from multiple gunshot wounds by the time police arrived to his home in Vaughan, Ontario, at around 1am.
At least three masked suspects dressed in dark clothing entered the home and fled the scene.
York Regional Police called this a ‘targeted incident’, but stressed that there is ‘no immediate threat to public safety’.
‘At this time, it is believed that the house was specifically targeted for a robbery. We are still looking into any and all motives behind the robbery, but currently we believe this to be based on monetary gain only and that the victim was not an intended target,’ police said in an update on Monday.
Multiple neighbors said their street was swarmed with ambulances, police cars, and even a helicopter shining a light on the home that was attacked, The Toronto Star reported.
One person said that after paramedics went inside the home with a stretcher and came out with no one, the woman who lived there began crying and fell ‘to the ground’.
This witness also recalled hearing a teenage boy repeatedly say ‘My dad’.
Police have not located the suspects yet and are urging the public to come forward if they know anything.
Since the perpetrators have not been caught, this brazen robbery has gotten the attention of local and province politicians.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the suspects ‘scumbags’ during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
‘This innocent man got his doors kicked in in the middle of the night, four people went in there — his three kids are there, his wife — had a gun to one of the kids, he went to protect them and these scumbags shot him right in front of his kids, shot him dead, twice,’ Ford said.
‘Just imagine the trauma these kids are gonna go through for the rest of their lives,’ he added.
Ford and Stephen Lecce, a member of the Ontario parliament, were pictured with Farooqi in December of last year at an event to promote small businesses.
Farooqi owned a duct cleaning business called Unique Providers. At the time, he thanked both lawmakers discussing ‘improving indoor air quality in Ontario schools’.
‘I look forward to working with the Education Minister to create healthier learning environments,’ Farooqi said.