Two stray bullets, two young women murdered outside Mississauga nightclubs

One was fatally struck by a stray bullet as she waited with friends outside in the late December cold to get into a popular and crowded east Mississauga nightclub.

The other, on her way home after a night out, was similarly and fatefully caught in the wrong place at the wrong time — killed by a bullet as she waited for a ride outside a bar near Pearson Airport, also in the city’s east end.

Both victims were young women who, by all accounts, had promising futures ahead of them, senselessly murdered while “in the prime of their lives,” Peel Regional Police said this past summer.

The lives of Raneilia Richards and Jackline Gore, both described by police as “innocent bystanders,” met with sudden, violent and tragic ends some four-and-a-half years — 1,637 days, to be exact — apart.

Both murders remain unsolved, which prompted police to offer $100,000 rewards this past July for information leading to arrests of the killers who gunned down the two young women.

As 2024 winds down — and approaching one year since Richards was shot and killed last Dec. 31 — Peel police investigators are again appealing to the public for help finding the killers.

On Saturday, police issued a news release reminding people of the sizeable financial rewards available for information that will help them find the shooters and, in doing so, bring a measure of justice to the families who’ve suffered such devastating losses.

The $100,000 reward in the Richards case is the first to be offered as police try to track down the killer of the 19-year-old North York woman who was shot as she stood in line outside a jam-packed Mississauga nightclub in the early morning hours last Dec. 31.

An initial $25,000 reward has been upped to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person who on July 8, 2019, shot and killed Gore, 24, a London, Ont. native. The York University student was struck by a bullet in the overnight hours while waiting for a ride home outside a bar near Pearson Airport.

Speaking at a press conference last July 8, Peel police Insp. Todd Custance told the media there’s no evidence to indicate the murder cases are linked.

“However, we aren’t discounting that,” he added at the time. “The cases are similar — two women struck down in the prime of their lives.”

Police said they’ve maintained contact with the families of both victims as they hunt the killers and they’re hopeful the rewards will bring new leads.

Raneilia Richards, 19, of North York, was shot and killed outside an east Mississauga nightclub last Dec. 31.

Investigators said earlier they believe the bullet that killed Richards as she waited in line at about 1:30 a.m. outside Jungle Event Space, at Dixie Road and Eglinton Avenue East, was fired from a gun inside a grey or light-coloured SUV that quickly sped away from the scene.

Richards was standing in a line of about 100 people along with her sister and boyfriend when multiple gunshots rang out, one of the bullets striking and killing the young woman who would’ve began college that same week with a dream of working in the travel and aviation industry.

No other people were hurt.

Formerly known as HER nightclub, which shut down in late 2022 after a rash of gun violence, the location reopened several months later under the new name, Jungle Event Space.

The nightclub closed down again in the wake of the latest shooting.

This SUV was spotted speeding away from the scene after Richards was shot and killed last Dec. 31. (All photos: Peel Regional Police)

Gore, who was studying to be a clinical psychologist, was an unintended target when she was shot to death while waiting for a ride home outside Fume Bar and Lounge, on Torbram Rd. in the city’s northeast end, near Pearson Airport.

According to police, a man approached a group of men who were a short distance away from Gore and opened fire, intending to target someone in the group. Instead, the stray bullet struck Gore.

Anyone with information about these incidents is urged to call Peel Regional Police at 905-453-2121, ext. 3205, or Peel Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

Map shows intersection in east Mississauga (Eglinton Avenue East and Dixie Road) where Richards was killed.