Greek Canadian tech start-up CEO, Matthew Staikos has been shot and killed in Toronto, Canada.
The incident took place on Monday night in the city’s Yorkville neighbourhood, an upscale shopping district.
Security footage shows Mr Staikos walking with another man and chatting as they pass what looks to be a parked silver or grey four-door Mercedes. After they pass the vehicle, a man is spotted getting out of the passenger side of the car, and a few seconds later gets back into the car and speeds off.
The man reportedly approached Mr Staikos from behind and shot him in the head in front of Pusateri’s Fine Foods.
Emergency personnel were called to the scene of Bay Street and Yorkville Avenue on reports of gunshots at approximately 11.30 pm.
Mr Staikos was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 37-year-old’s family released a written statement on Wednesday expressing their loss.
“Our family is mourning the sudden loss of our beloved Matthew,” the family said.
“We ask that you respect the privacy of our family as we cope with this tragedy.”
A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Mechanical and Computer Engineering School, Mr Staikos founded web application developer Torch Mobile in 2003 with his brother George, eventually acquired by BlackBerry’s Research in Motion in 2009.
Since May 2015, he was the CEO of internet messaging site Vleepo with a software team based in Larissa, Greece.
The Greek Ambassador in Canada, Dimitrios Azemopoulos took to Facebook on Wednesday morning to express his shock over the news.
“He was a prominent Greek and a successful Canadian citizen. He made us all proud of his unbounded love for Greece and his great achievements in Canada,” Mr Azemopoulos wrote.
“I met him at the time when he was trying to become successful. I immediately realised that he will make it. But I never imagined that he would leave us so quickly, so unfairly, so violently.”
The motive of the shooting remains unknown.