A woman who was murdered in front of a small child has been identified.
Laura Rios, 45, was killed just before 9pm on Monday.
It's believed that the youngster in the car was Rios' daughter Emma, but police have yet to identify the child.
"She was just the sweetest lady," Rios' son Franco Lozano remembered on Tuesday.
"She worked hard her entire life. She wasn't supposed to die like this. She was supposed to die an old lady...for somebody to think it's OK to kill somebody's mom, it's not right."
The fatal shooting happened in the parking lot at 2130 Weston Rd., north of Lawrence Avenue. The victim was shot in the head beside her truck while the toddler sat inside. Rios was pronounced dead at the scene.
"We do not believe that this was a random attack," Detective Sergeant Pauline Gray outlined at a press conference.
Rios owned a business called Rios Envios that shipped large containers between Canada and South America. Gray explained that when a woman is killed, domestic violence is
statistically likely. However, she added, police are pursuing all
avenues.
"The gunmen lay in wait for this woman and with absolute disregard for the victim and for her small child, opened fire. The toddler was sitting in the vehicle at the time but was thankfully unharmed," Gray outlined.
The two-year-old child is now in the care of the Children's Aid Society.
"We're asking the public's help in identifying the vehicle that left the
scene directly after the murder," Gray said.
"The car is an older model dark vehicle
with a very loud muffler. The car headed southbound on Weston Road
directly after the attack."
According to witnesses, a man ran from the scene and then jumped into a purple compact car.
The man is described as 5'10" to 6' tall and wearing a navy blue sweat shirt and grey sweat pants.
"We’ve had great participation from people who live in this area," praised Gray - but police need more people to come forward.
If you have any information that could help investigators, call the Homicide Squad at (416) 808-7400 or Crime Stoppers at (416) 222-TIPS.
Rios' death marks the city’s 58th homicide of the year.