A father of 10 was gunned down inside a Scarborough bar on Monday morning, becoming the city's 17th murder victim of the year.
Clifenton Ford, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Clifenton was a great, great man. A great father, he was a great son, he was a great uncle, he was just a great man all around," a distraught Ayisha Spence told CityNews. Spence had two children with Ford, who worked as a janitor in a gym.
"We had been together for 13 years. He was my boyfriend. He was my best friend," Spence said.
She had just seen Ford on Sunday afternoon. He was playing video games, she said, before breaking down in tears.
"He didn't deserve this and I hope anybody who knows anything will come forward," Spence added.
Ford had children with six different women, all of whom were at the crime scene Monday.
The gunfire reportedly erupted before 2:30 a.m. Monday at G's Chill and Grill, at 2528 Eglinton Ave. E., near Midland.
"Several of the patrons remained and spoke with us," Insp. Edward Boyd told CityNews at the scene.
"However, there are about 30 to 50 patrons who left prior to our arrival. I'm appealing to those witnesses to contact us in person," he added.
Boyd said police would be looking at surveillance video from the bar. There’s no word yet on arrests or a motive, but an autopsy will be performed.
If you have any information call police at (416) 808-7411 or Crime Stoppers at (416) 222-TIPS (8477).
With files from Anna Vlachos.