Police Find Person Who Parked SUV Containing Three Murdered Men

More details of an apparently gang-related triple murder are coming to light a day after the victims were found shot to death in an abandoned SUV.

Adrian Inglis Bannerman, 29; Aaron Brendan Macdonald, 20; and Kurt Atiba Charles, 27, all of Toronto, were found shot to death inside a gold Nissan Pathfinder parked on Lunness Road, in the Browns Line and Valermo Drive area, early Sunday. Authorities made the grisly discovery just after 3:30am.

Someone had called 9-1-1 to alert authorities to the murders.

Detectives said the trio was killed in a drive-by shooting and on Monday police revealed the man who apparently parked the bullet-riddled vehicle in Etobicoke contacted them Sunday. That driver is apparently being considered a fourth victim in this case.

"We consider the driver to be a victim. He's a surviving victim from the shooting and he's a witness," confirms Det. Sgt. Dean Burkes.

The driver was behind the wheel of  Nissan Pathfinder when a black SUV pulled up beside it and opened fire, killing the three men in the passenger seats.

"The information we have is that the vehicle was in motion, and the suspects were operating another motor vehicle ... and pulled up alongside the victims' vehicle and opened fire on the occupants," adds Det. Burkes.

"We are looking at any gang affiliations or gang associations trying to establish if it is in fact a gang related incident."

Authorities said all three victims were all at Fluid nightclub on Richmond Street before they were killed.

On Monday relatives of the slain men gathered at the spot where their loved ones were found murdered.

"Adrian Bannerman is a good boy," said a grieving relative.  "He's not related to any gang members. And this is very sad, what happened...(We were) very close."

Investigators want to speak with anyone with information or who saw the victims at the nightclub Saturday night before the murders. If you can help, call (416) 808-7399 or Crime Stoppers at (416) 222-TIPS.

These three murders mark the city's 33rd, 34th and 35th homicides of the year and the end of a deadly week in Toronto. Six people were murdered in seven days across the GTA.

-- Edited by RiddimRyder at 08:13, 2008-07-22