TORONTO — Toronto police on Sunday identified the second man found dead in a burning vehicle after two fires about 90 minutes apart last week, and a homicide detective says both victims were shot before the cars were set alight.Mohamud Kheyre, 30, was named as the man found in a parking lot at James Gardens Park near Royal York Rd. and Edenbridge Dr. in Etobicoke just before 1 a.m. on September 22. Officers had already found Marcus Charles, 32, of Scarborough, inside a blazing vehicle in a field north of the Toronto Zoo near Steeles Ave. E. and Reesor Rd. about 11:25 p.m. on September 21.Det.-Sgt. Henri Marsman of the Homicide and Missing Persons Unit said Friday that autopsies showed both men were shot to death. “Both victims were dead before they were burnt,” he said, and investigators believe they were targeted..Homicide unit called after two bodies found in burning cars.Marsman has not confirmed the two scenes are connected. “At this stage, we haven’t confirmed a connection between the two incidents; that’s one of the several avenues that we are investigating,” he said.He later added there are “a lot of commonalities” and that the fires were about an hour and a half apart, but he would not declare a link without solid evidence.Charles was identified through fingerprints and was found in a rental vehicle, with police saying they believe he was killed within 24 hours of the fire. Kheyre’s identification was delayed because his body was badly burned; he was found in a vehicle stolen from the Greater Toronto Area.Marsman would not say whether Charles was known to police or whether the killings were tied to organized crime. He did say Charles had no connection to biker gangs or Toronto’s illicit towing industry.No suspects or motives have been released, and police say there is no safety risk to the public.
