FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Toronto homicide victim Kiesingar Gunn would have turned 30 this week. It's time to find his killer.

For Immediate Release

Toronto mother marks 30th birthday of slain son

TORONTO — The mother of an innocent bystander killed by a stray bullet is appealing for witnesses to step forward as she prepares to mark his 30th birthday.

“I want to be able to reach that one person who’s sitting on the edge of coming forward,” Evelyn Fox, mother of Kiesingar Gunn, said in a video statement released this week. “I know that it’s difficult to do the right thing, especially when it comes to a homicide, but this could have been you.”

Gunn was 26 years old when he was hit by what police believe was a stray bullet outside Forty2 Supperclub on September 11, 2016. He was engaged to be married and had four young children when he was killed.

Despite a $50,000 reward, the release of a composite sketch and surveillance video showing vehicles the shooter may have fled in, Gunn’s homicide remains unsolved. He would have turned 30 on May 2.

In the video statement, Fox said that as she prepares to mark what should have been a happy day, she has been haunted by the hours leading up to her son’s death — from the early-morning notification that he had been shot to the time she spent wiping blood from his face as loved ones came to say their final goodbyes.

“He loved his birthday,” Fox said. “He loved life, so celebrating everybody’s birthday was a big thing for him.”

Fox said she hopes that by speaking about her pain, reluctant witnesses will be compelled to come forward. Investigators believe there were several people who recognized the shooter inside the club before the gunfire and that some of them witnessed the shooting.

Speaking to those witnesses, Fox said: “This could have been your family asking for help from the people who were outside that club and witnessed my son’s shooting. It could have been your family and you would expect my son to come forward and do the right thing for your family.”

The complete and unedited conversation with Fox is available for use by members of the media at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtuIGaZ4GBM&t=67s. Photos of Gunn, including photos with his children and with his mother, are available upon request.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Toronto police Homicide Det. Leslie Dunkley at 416-808-7400 ext. 77424. Anonymous tips can be left through Crime Stoppers.

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Media contact:

Tamara Cherry
Pickup Communications
647-388-2460
tamara@pickupcommunications.com

Pickup Communications is a public relations firm that specializes in supporting victims of crime in engaging with the media, at no cost to the victims. It was founded by former journalist Tamara Cherry, who reported on crime for CTV News Toronto, the Toronto Sun and Toronto Star. Follow @PickupComms on Twitter.