When single dad Miles Melquist came face-to-face with a shotgun-toting male on his doorstep Wednesday night, his biggest concern wasn't the threat standing in front of him.

It was the well-being of the people behind him.

All Melquist could think about was the safety of three of his sons -- aged 14, 17 and 18 -- who were inside during the brief but nerve-rattling encounter at his home in the 300 block of Alfred Avenue.

Police are investigating whether the same suspects are linked to a pursuit or two carjackings, which occurred nearby within an hour during a busy night of crime in the North End.

No one has been charged.

For Melquist, it began when he investigated noises outside, possibly gunshots, and saw a muzzle flash on the street about 9:20 p.m., he said.

"When I turned the corner (into the porch) I saw a punk there with a shotgun and he cocked it and he said, 'You want to start something now?'" Melquist said.

The armed male, accompanied by four others, was on the front steps about three metres from Melquist, who was in the porch, and smashed a door window with the gun.

"I told them, 'You've got the wrong frickin' house,'" Melquist said.

Popping noises

Melquist closed the doors and heard two more popping noises, which may have been the suspect smashing windows because the walls didn't have pellet holes, he said.

He said he's thankful his 11-year-old son, who returned home moments later, didn't arrive when the suspect was on his doorstep.

Melquist said he doesn't know why the males targeted his home.

But in recent weeks someone smashed his window and his kids have been chased or pressured to join gangs, he said.

Melquist said police arrived quickly and scoured the area.

At 10 p.m., police saw a GMC Yukon Denali, which had Saskatchewan licence plates and was believed to be stolen, nearby at Selkirk Avenue and Andrews Street.

The driver refused to stop and fled, driving into oncoming traffic at one point and colliding with a minivan and light standard at Arlington Street and Burrows Avenue.

No one was seriously injured.

Police lost sight of the vehicle but followed a trail of leaking fluids to Magenta Crescent in the Maples, where the vehicle was abandoned.

Steam was pouring from its hood and music was blaring, said Allan, a resident who watched police draw their guns and approach the empty vehicle.

A short time later, police found a damaged shotgun barrel on Fife Street. A police spokesman was unaware if the find was related.

The vehicle's occupants escaped, police said.

chris.kitching@sunmedia.ca