Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw defended officers' decision not to arrest a violent home invasion suspect at a hospital.
Officers responded to a home in the affluent Hyde Park Circle area at 3:43 a.m. on Oct. 29, just 500 yards from rapper Drake's mansion.
Three masked suspects armed with handguns and a hammer forced entry into the home, shot 75-year-old CEO David Morton and attacked him with a hammer. His two adult daughters were also shot. Morton's wife was attacked with a hammer. At least one of the victims was left with life-altering injuries.
Daijohn Richards, now identified as one of the suspects, arrived at St. Joseph's Health Center for treatment for a gunshot wound believed to have been accidentally inflicted by an accomplice at 4:19 a.m., according to The Toronto Star. The hospital is approximately 14 miles from the crime scene.
Richards was treated, interacted with police officers at the hospital, and was discharged later that morning.
Toronto's top cop doubled down on the decision to let him walk free, citing that insufficient evidence was available at the time, according to CP 24 News. A Canada-wide arrest warrant has since been issued for Richards.
The community lashed out at police, with many taking their anger out online suggesting that police fumbled and failed to apprehend the suspect after having ample opportunity to.
We want to address some confusion surrounding the investigation into the home invasion in the Bridle Path neighbourhood.
— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) October 31, 2026
Investigators immediately recognized the potential connection between the home invasion and the individual who showed up at hospital with a gunshot wound.…
"They responded to the hospital as they would when people walk into the hospital with a gunshot wound, which happens in the city from time to time, and they advanced the investigation with the speed and flow that was available to them," Demkiw said Monday.
UPDATE: Additional image of suspect released.
— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) October 31, 2026
More information: https://t.co/3LXy2En87J https://t.co/Wqg1ZMPRSV pic.twitter.com/WwSBoioXYW
Police addressed the situation in a statement issued online, and claimed that officers "immediately recognized the potential connection between the home invasion and the individual who showed up at the hospital with a gunshot wound."
"But recognizing a potential suspect and having enough evidence to arrest them are two different things," police said. "Suspicion alone isn't enough. Police need reasonable grounds, supported by evidence, to make an arrest."
Demkiw said investigators did not immediately have information that an assailant had been shot during that home invasion.
"We are following the evidence as it becomes available. Had there been evidence to allow us to do something different, that's what would have happened," he said. (RELATED: Home Invaders Shoot Real Estate CEO, Two Daughters In Affluent Neighborhood Down Street From Pop Star)
Demkiw continued, "I can tell you, from my perspective, there's been no failure. There's been nothing but exceptional police work, exceptional investigative steps taken."
Richards and the other two suspects remain outstanding.
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