Residents of a northeast Toronto neighbourhood, some with children, talked about the horror of hearing shots ring out Wednesday night and then seeing a man lay dying of his wounds.

Carl Cole, the city's latest murder victim, died in a hail of gunfire that left so many shell casings outside a Scarborough apartment building that police had to find extra cups at a local store to mark them all.

Up to 20 casings were found outside a 65 Greenbrae Circuit, just north of Lawrence Avenue East and Markham Road.

Cole, 45, was shot multiple times at 6:45 p.m., in what is believed to have been a drive-by attack.

George Tumpeck heard and saw the shooting and rushed over to help the victim.

"It was coming out by the shoulder but from under the guy," he said Thursday of the blood spewing from Cole's wounds. "It was obvious he was going to die. The blood was coming so fast."

Hatim Mahmoud was home with his four children. "My little one saw what happened here, and he saw the dead body over there," he said from his balcony, pointing to the crime scene.

Paramedics rushed Cole to Sunnybrook hospital's trauma unit, but doctors later pronounced him dead. He is Toronto's 56th homicide of 2010.

An employee at a nearby store told CTV News that officers came in to ask for cups to collect and note evidence because they had ran out of markers.

Up to three people were reported fleeing from the scene. Police believe the suspects fled in the victim's silver 2006 Chrysler 300, with Ontario licence plate BFZM 855.

Police said they found the vehicle Thursday in the area of Neilson Road and Highway 401 following a phone tip. That location is roughly a six-minute drive from the crime scene.

Det. Justin Vanderheyden said he hopes there will be "an abundance of forensic evidence" inside the car.

Police say at least two firearms were used in the homicide.

While Cole was known to them, police say he didn't have a record of violence and they don't know yet why someone would want him dead. He is survived by his wife and two grown children.

But police also wonder why Cole was at 65 Greenbrae Circuit, given that he didn't live there.

The incident is believed to be the 10th shooting in Toronto in the past six days, including two others in the Lawrence Avenue East area.

"It is tragic when you see this many shootings," Insp. Gerry Cashman told reporters. "We do have spikes from time to time, where we get a lot and then it calms down. I'm hoping this is just a spike that is taking place and not a pattern."

The area was the scene of another shooting homicide in September.

Jameel Spence, 27, was shot at a family barbecue taking place at 30 Greenbrae Circuit.

On Saturday, police canvassed the area, hoping to find new evidence that would lead them to Spence's killer.

Spence was Toronto's 39th homicide victim of 2010.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Janice Golding