Jakub Sudomericky. Photo via Toronto police.
An Ontario man is dead after an alleged social distancing dispute turned into a shooting at a Toronto-area liquor store this weekend. Toronto police say Jakub Sudomericky, 21, was shopping at an LCBO in Scarborough, in the east part of Toronto, on Sunday evening when he got into an argument with a man and woman. The fight continued in the parking lot. “A short time after the 21-year-old man was running through the parking lot and gunshots were heard and he was seen laying on the ground,” said Toronto police in a press release. Sudomericky was taken to a nearby hospital and died shortly after. According to multiple media outlets, police sources said investigators believe a “social-distancing dispute" was at the heart of the argument. A TPS spokesperson would not confirm to VICE News that this was the case. At a Monday press conference, Detective Amanda Thorton said, “The basis of the argument which took place within the LCBO is still under investigation.” Police say the suspect fled in a vehicle but they were able to find him shortly after they arrived on scene. Michael Roberts, 20, has been charged with first-degree murder. Three people in the same vehicle as Roberts were also arrested. Thorton said Roberts and Sudomericky were both wearing masks inside the LCBO. Police found multiple shell casings and a knife at the scene.Fights have broken out inside stores over social distancing, especially in the United States, in Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, and Florida. Some of the fights have led to lawsuits. In Canada in recent weeks, there have been some reports of violence at large anti-mask gatherings. Ontario Premier Doug Ford pleaded with people at the anti-mask rally in Toronto to calm down after hearing there was “a little bit of violence out there.” A recent viral video shows a masked man pushing a maskless woman through the doors of a Vancouver bus after she spat on him. Also in Vancouver, anti-maskers were banned from using a ferry after antagonizing customers.Some anti-maskers revel in “triggering” people and causing an incident that they film and post on social media. One man recently posted a video on a private Canadian anti-mask Facebook page of him going to a local Costco with a hospital mask over his eyes, not his mouth. “I absolutely love triggering the Karens,” he wrote with his post. “I don’t care, I will scream down anyone who gets in my face. I’m done with these fools.” Follow Mack Lamoureux on Twitter.
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