Jeremy Cook, 18, was fatally shot in London, Ontario, over the weekend after tracking down his stolen smartphone using a mobile tracking app and confronting the suspects, the CBC reported.
The incident occurred Sunday morning, after the app indicated the phone was in a parked Mazda sedan with three men inside. But when Cook attempted to retrieve the phone, police said the car began to pull away, so he reached for the driver's door. It was then that he was shot multiple times.
Police recovered the car, which was abandoned nearby after apparently hitting a fence and telephone pole. Cook's phone was found nearby.
Surveillance footage from the area revealed the suspects to be three black males between the ages of 18 and 21, who remain at large.
London Police Constable Ken Steeves said he believed the app was a useful tool for finding phones, but encouraged people to seek the help of police in retrieving them.
"If you suspect there's any potential for violence at all, we certainly encourage people to contact police," Steeves said. "It wasn't the app that took away Jeremy's life, it was the individuals, which would be rare, who happened to be armed with a gun."
It was unclear in media reports which app was used.
Steeves told reporters that Cook's death was the first case of its kind for his department.
BuzzFeed has reached out to the London Police Department for comment.
Cook was a recent high school graduate from Brampton, Ontario, and moved to London to become a carpenter's apprentice, his obituary said.