Police are searching for three suspects after a mass shooting in a Toronto neighbourhood left one man dead and five others in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Toronto Police are investigating the shooting that occurred just after 8:30 p.m. on June 3 in a residential area known as Lawrence Heights near the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in North York.
A prominent police presence was established in the area later in the evening, and caution tape cordoned off a nearby intersection, as well as an entrance to the Yorkdale subway station.
A 31-year-old wheel-chair bound man was critically injured during the shooting and died in hospital, Det.-Sgt. Tiffany Castell said during an afternoon press conference on June 4.
“This is our city’s 13th homicide of this year,” she said, describing the incident as a “targeted” shooting.
Five additional victims, three men, a 30-year-old woman, and a 17-year-old youth were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot injuries, police said. The adult male victims ranged in age from 18 to 25. All five victims are expected to survive.
Investigators are seeking information about three suspects who “produced firearms and shot” into a group of people before fleeing the area, Castell said, noting that it is too early to determine if the incident was gang-related.
“Everybody who was involved, and certainly the person who lost their life, did not deserve that last night,” Castell said. “I can’t speak to who the specific intended targets were… the area was targeted, that group of individuals was targeted, but I don’t know specifically who in that group was targeted.”
The three suspects are male, with slim to average builds, she said. Each suspect was wearing dark clothing and face coverings, and carrying firearms.
Multiple rounds were fired during the shooting, Castell said, but declined to say what types of guns were used or how many casings were recovered from the scene.
Police on Scene
Police established a command post in the vicinity of Ranee Avenue and Flemington Road after the shooting as officers searched for witnesses and collected evidence.
Duty Insp. Baheer Sarvanandan told reporters during a late night press conference at the command post that it was not yet known if the suspects and victims were known to each other, but added that there was “no risk to public safety.”
Sarvanandan described the crime scene as large and “very complex,” noting that officers had not found any firearms in their sweep of the area.
Police are asking anyone with camera footage from the vicinity—such as dashcam footage, doorbell camera recordings, or surveillance videos—to provide this information to the investigators.
Public Reaction
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw described the mass shooting as an act of “brazen violence.”
“This kind of violence causes a lot of pain and anxiety in our communities,” he said during the June 4 press. “Please be assured that investigators are working diligently to determine what took place and hold those responsible accountable.”
Deputy Mayor Mike Colle, who represents the area, was at the scene last night to offer support and update the public about the incident, which he described as a “series of shootings.”
“I’ve been talking to the police here and they are still trying to gather evidence,” Colle said in a video posted to Facebook.
“We’ve got a serious situation here. Sad to say, this has been a very quiet area in the last couple of years and now all of a sudden the quiet’s been broken by these gun fights. It’s very, very sad news here in Lawrence Heights.”
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she was “disturbed” by news of the shooting.
“I want to thank the first responders – Toronto Police, Fire and Paramedic services for your work on a very busy and challenging scene,” she said in a social media post.
Eglinton-Lawrence MP Vince Gasparro also took to social media to voice concern.
“I am aware of the brazen act of violence that occured in Lawrence Heights this evening,” the Liberal MP said in a late night post. “I have been in contact with community leaders on the ground and have offered any and all support/resources. My heart goes out to the community & the impacted families.”
