A fatal attack in Toronto's North York is now being investigated as a homicide, police say. The case began as a hit and run in the area of Keele Street and Wilson Avenue, where a man was struck by a vehicle early Sunday. Officers have since identified the victim as 32-year-old Eric Safar of Toronto.
Emergency crews were called to the scene at around six o'clock in the morning. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, while one other person was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The location is directly across from Humber River Hospital, only steps away from where the violence unfolded.
Witnesses who did not want to appear on camera told City News that an altercation broke out before the man was struck. They said the confrontation escalated quickly before he was hit by a light-coloured vehicle. According to neighbours, the suspects beat the victim with a baseball bat and then ran him over several times, deliberately, before fleeing the scene.
One resident described being jolted awake by the sounds outside. He said what first woke him was the revving of a car at around 6 a.m., something he noted happens often in the area, followed by screaming that alarmed him. When he went to look, he saw a man holding a bat, with bruises and scrapes all over his body.
A large police presence followed at the scene. Residents counted around 20 vehicles, including cruisers, ambulances, forensic units and collision reconstruction teams, with several evidence markers placed around the area. Officers released few details about the investigation but acknowledged how traumatising the incident was.
The duty inspector from Toronto police, who spoke at the scene, did not take questions from reporters. He did, however, make a plea for anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward, and asked that anyone with video or dash-cam footage of the light-coloured vehicle contact investigators or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
Police stressed that the impact of the attack reaches well beyond those directly involved, saying it will cause distress not just to one family but to the entire surrounding community. Authorities confirmed the death marks the city's 14th homicide of 2026.