Suspect charged with murder after mother of two is killed by stray bullet in Toronto

A 32-year-old man from Toronto has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after the death of a woman killed by a stray bullet in Toronto’s East End last week.

Karolina Huebner-Makurat, a 44-year-old mother of two, was killed shortly after noon on Friday while walking in Toronto’s Leslieville neighborhood, an incident that upset the community.

Damian Hudson, a resident of Toronto, has been arrested and charged with manslaughter, police said in a written statement Thursday.

Court documents obtained by the Canadian Press show that the suspect has a criminal record.

Hudson was charged in 2021 with assault resulting in bodily harm and failure to comply with a probation order issued in 2019. He was too charged with two counts of assault in March last year and failing to comply with the same probation.

Hudson was due to appear in a Toronto court on Thursday.

Officers were called to the scene Friday after reports of physical interaction between three men, police said.

“Two of the men brandished pistols and fired them at each other,” police said.

Huebner-Makurat “was walking in the area and was hit by a stray bullet,” and the suspects fled on foot, the police statement said.

Police have enlisted the public’s help in identifying two additional suspects, both of whom have been described as male and aged between 18 and 25.

Residents of Leslieville erected a makeshift memorial to Huebner-Makurat shortly after her death, placing flowers, candles, and notes to mourn her death.

Adrian Makurat, who identified himself as the victim’s husband, posted to social media hours after the shooting asking for privacy and calling it a “tragic day”.

“Life is short. Hug your loved ones every chance you get,” he wrote on a Facebook profile that included photos of the couple and two young girls.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow commented on the killing on Monday, two days before she formally took office. She sent her condolences to Karolina Huebner-Makurat’s family and called what happened a “terrible tragedy.”

“The challenge for me when I become mayor is to find ways to end gun violence and all forms of violence,” Chow said.

Publicly available police data – current as of Saturday – shows the number of reported shootings is the lowest in five years, dating back to 2019.

There have been 153 reported shootings or gun discharges so far this year, compared to a high of 225 in 2020, or the second lowest figure of 187 in 2021.

While homicides and reported shootings have fallen so far, police data indicates that assaults are up about 18 percent this time of year compared to the five-year average.