Toronto police said on Saturday that a young father who was gunned down last September behind his east-end home may not have been the intended target.

The news comes as family and friends of Jahmeel Spence held a memorial service for the slain 27-year-old Saturday afternoon.

Dozens of mourners gathered for the event in the Lawrence Avenue and Bellamy Road area where Spence was shot while attending a family barbecue in a townhouse complex on Sept. 10, 2010.

Insp. Mark Saunders, who attended the service, said Spence may not have the killer's real target.

Last year, Spence's body was found in a laneway after he was caught in a hail of gunfire, police said. Spence was pronounced dead at the scene.

So far, Spence's death remains unsolved. Late last November, police went door-to-door in the slain father of two's neighbourhood hoping to find witnesses.

Police said a man was seen fleeing the area of 30 Greenbrae Circuit in an older-model four-door Honda at the time of the shooting. Police have not released a description of the driver but said the vehicle was possibly light-blue in colour.

News of Spence's death shattered his family who has already endured another tragic loss in 1996 when Spence's teenaged younger brother was fatally stabbed in the Kennedy subway station.

Ladawn Clark, Spence's sister told CTV Toronto last year that "Jahmeel Spence was a wonderful husband and an amazing father."

"If anyone has information on this tragedy, please come forward."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Wayne Banks at 416-808-7411 or Detective Kate Beveridge at 416-808-7422, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com.