Chris Thompson was the intended target of a brazen gunman who walked into Cut Creator barbershop and gunned down the 35-year-old on Tuesday, police said at a news conference.
The longtime barber and father of two was cutting a customer's hair at the shop in Malvern Town Centre in Scarborough when a lone suspect shot him several times at point-blank range around 12:45 p.m.
Police say the gunman didn't speak and used a shotgun which he pulled out of a duffel bag.
"There's no doubt this was a very cool, cold-blooded crime," said Det.-Sgt. Dan Nielsen. "The shooter was very discriminating. There was no other people shot. It's very clear that he was targeting Chris."
"We don't know why he was targeted."
The suspect, described as dark-skinned and between five feet eight and five feet 10, fled on foot north through the parking lot of 31 Tapscott Rd., toward McLevin Avenue.
Police don't know if he entered a car at some point, or escaped on foot. He was wearing dark clothing and his face was partially concealed.
Investigators are trying to track down several customers who fled before police arrived, including the man who was getting his hair cut by Thompson when he was shot.
"That's one of the persons I'd like to speak to," Nielsen said. "We need your assistance in this case to help assure the offender or offenders are brought to justice."
Detectives are speaking to several witnesses, and they have secured external surveillance video, which they have decided not to release to media.
Thompson's family was too distraught to attend Wednesday's news conference.
"He left behind many people who loved and cared for him including his children," Nielsen added.
Thompson’s murder marks the city’s fifth homicide of the year and fourth fatal shooting in Scarborough in a month.
Anthony Spencer, a 23-year-old aspiring musician, was shot to death in a recording studio on Brimley Road, near Lawrence, early Saturday morning. Police are still searching for a suspect in that case.
Nielsen said so far there's no reason to believe Thompson's murder is connected to the previous killings.
"To date there is no evidence that this murder is linked to any of the other murders," he said.