Video shows moments surrounding fatal downtown Kitchener shooting

CTV News has obtained extensive surveillance video of what happened immediately before and after an 18-year-old Kitchener man was fatally shot outside a downtown business earlier this month.

Family members have identified Joshua Tarnue as the victim of the deadly Aug. 13 shooting.

The video shows crucial moments, including a brief exchange between Tarnue and the shooter, before the interaction turns violent.

Police said officers responded to the area of Queen Street South and Charles Street around 10:20 p.m. for reports of shots fired.

When they arrived, police found Tarnue with gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police are still looking for the suspect.

WHAT THE VIDEO SHOWS

The video appears to be from a security camera outside a nearby business.

It shows several angles of the Queen Street plaza parking lot where the shooting occurred.

In one angle, the suspect can be seen slowly walking into the parking lot from Charles Street.

A few seconds later, another angle shows him stop and wait. Tarnue walks toward the suspect with his head down. When Tarnue tries to pass him, the suspect grabs Tarnue. A struggle ensues between the two, before Tarnue is brought to the ground. It’s then when the suspect appears to shoot Tarnue and flee.

The video shows some bystanders running from the area, while others linger. Eventually, patrons are seen bending over Tarnue and appear to try to help him.

Members of Waterloo regional police arrive a few minutes later. Officers can be seen doing chest compressions on Tarnue, who remains lying on the ground.

Joshua Tarnue, 18, is being remembered as a soft spoken and generous person with a love for food. “If he could cook all my food that I had in my kitchen to feed his friends, he would, no matter how much I made noise about it,” his mother Evelyn Woart told CTV News. (Submitted)

WRPS AWARE OF VIDEO

Waterloo regional police told CTV News Kitchener that investigators are aware of the video and it’s part of their evidence.

“We have seen the video. I wouldn’t get into the details of the video just because I wouldn’t want to jeopardize the investigation,” Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) Insp. Kyle Lambert said.

In the wake of the shooting, police put out a public plea for information, saying officers believed around 10 people could have been present and witnessed the shooting, but some are being uncooperative.

Police believe the shooting was targeted, but Lambert said they’re still investigating the true motive behind the attack.

“We’re not going to stop speaking to some of these witnesses who are uncooperative and we want to get the story straight,” Lambert said.

On Aug. 23, police released a separate grainy video of the suspect, who they said arrived in the area on a white motorized scooter.

“We want to understand exactly what happened prior to the incident, at the time of the incident and after the incident took place.”

Police said the suspect is described as a Black male with a thin build. He was last seen running from the Queen and Charles area, wearing jeans, a dark sweatshirt with a hood cinched tightly around his face, and a surgical mask.

If seen, police said the public should not approach him and instead call 911.

Tarnue’s death is the second homicide in Waterloo Region this year.