Shooting Near Toronto Street Festival Kills 2 People, Wounds 4
TORONTO (AP) – Two people were killed and four others were injured in a shooting near a street festival in Toronto Saturday evening. Police added that it was an exchange of gunfire between two men targeting each other that initially led to the active shooter alert.
Toronto Deputy Police Chief Frank Barredo, St. Clair Street West and St. He said investigators found two firearms after the shooting was reported at 8:12 p.m. near Arlington Boulevard, where the Salsa festival was held in St. Clair.
No suspects or suspects had been arrested at a late-night press conference where Barredo confirmed that both of the dead victims were men.
Police officers initially urged the public to stay away from the area, but later announced that the scene had been secured.
“There was some concern about an active shooter. That turned out not to be the case,” Barredo said. But the two gunmen involved in the shooting “indiscriminately endangered many people.”
LAURA PROCTOR via Getty Images
Valerie Rodriguez said she was sitting outside a nearby restaurant when people suddenly started screaming and running.
“A group of people… told us to lie down on the ground,” he said. “We were scared because we didn’t know exactly what was happening.”
Festival vendor Patsy Gutierrez said she saw a “huge wave of people” running away as she served customers.
“Everyone started going crazy and we stopped serving,” he said. “I think something like this should not happen at events like this.”
Thousands of people visit Toronto’s St. Louis for live music, dance, food and cultural performances. A large police presence remained around the festival, an annual celebration of Latin American culture that draws the St. Clair West neighborhood.
JORGE UZON via Getty Images
“I am deeply disturbed and outraged by this reckless and irresponsible act of violence in the middle of a family-attended festival,” said Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a social media post that his thoughts are with the victims, families and others affected by the attack.
“I am devastated by the senseless violence at the St. Clair Festival Salsa that left two people dead and others injured,” Ford said.
Canada’s largest city, Toronto, is among the safest major cities in North America. Fatal shootings involving multiple victims are relatively rare, especially in public places.
“Toronto is one of the safest cities in the world, but we are 3 million people and unfortunately we are not immune,” Barredo said.
