A closely-knit Jamaican family in Toronto, Canada has been plunged into mourning following the June 2 shooting death of its patriarch.

According to the Toronto Police Service (TPS), 61-year-old Delroy ‘George’ Parkes, who was originally from St Ann in Jamaica before migrating to Canada 30 years ago, was killed while playing a game of dominoes. Four other people were shot and injured in the shooting incident that took place about 10:53 pm in the parking lot of the North Albion Collegiate Institute in northwest Toronto.

TPS, in a news release, said a group of men was gathered in the parking lot area after a football game when a dark pickup truck drove up. Two suspects exited the vehicle and shot at the group of men before fleeing the area in the truck. Media reports indicate that more than 50 shots were fired at the group.

TPS said responding officers located five victims suffering from gunshot wounds when they arrived at the location, all were transported to hospital where Parkes, of a Woodstock address, died while being treated. It is understood that one of the survivors is also Jamaican.

“The four remaining victims have life-altering and non-life-threatening injuries,” TPS said in its update on the homicide.

The police are appealing for anyone with information who can assist their investigation to come forward.

In the meantime, family members have told Canadian media they have no idea why their relative would be targeted. They described him as a “beloved father and a man of strong faith.”

His daughter Jaidyn is taking it particularly hard.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce the tragic and untmely passing of my beloved father, Delroy Parkes, who many of you knew as ‘Uncle George,’” a GoFundMe post organised by Jaidyn Parkes reads.

She said her father and his friends had been going to the area to hang out together for years.

“My life is taken away. Our life is taken away,” his widow Heather told the Toronto Sun. She shared that as her husband lay bleeding to death, one of his friends called her on a cellphone and held it up to Parkes.

“All I could hear in the background was moaning,” said Heather. “He was assassinated, let’s face it. He was assassinated.”

Heather is demanding justice for her husband, an innocent victim who was shot after finishing a friendly game of football with his friends.

“Damn right, I want justice. Our world was taken from us for no reason. No reason,” said Heather. “So, I want justice.”

Jaidyn wanted to know why someone would kill her dad.

“My dad was so genuine and nice,“ she said.

“I felt like my whole world was gone,” she added. “My dad was my world. He was my best friend, next to my mom.”

The well-spoken 23-year-old said she just earned a degree in social work at Toronto Metropolitan University. As the first in her family to graduate from a university, Jaidyn told reporters she was looking forward to seeing her mom and dad attend her June 11 graduation.

Jaidyn said her dad called the place where he was killed “The Headquarters” — his home away from home for the past 30 years — where Jamaicans socialised, had barbecues and played dominoes and football.

Her father, an avid football player and a big fan of English Premier League team, Arsenal, arrived in Canada more than 30 years ago from Jamaica. She said he was proud of his family, wife, children and grandchildren and his hard-working home of Canada.

A police command post — where officers spent much of the day talking to community members — has been set up near the location of the shooting.

The GoFundMe page set up to cover the cost of Parkes’ June 15 funeral had raised just under $5,000 by early Tuesday evening.

Observer Online understands that Parkes has several brothers and sisters living in Canada and the United States. He leaves behind his widow Heather and several children.