A 17-year-old is in hospital in stable condition after he was shot by a police officer during a robbery investigation in Pickering on Monday morning.
The Pickering teen suffered two gunshot wounds to the upper body and is in Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit said.
In a news release, Durham Regional Police said an officer and a lone male suspect got into a confrontation as police responded to a call about an armed robbery in progress at a veterinary clinic on Kingston Road at about 7:30 a.m.
The shooting occurred in front of Sheridan Veterinary Services, where orange pylons have been placed on the street to mark several shell casings. A gun, a shoe and other objects were visible on the pavement near the entrance to the clinic's parking lot.
April, a woman who lives in the area, told CP24’s Jackie Crandles she was sitting on her patio when she heard five gunshots.
April said she went to investigate the noise and saw a male on the ground and several police officers on scene.
The teen was rushed to a hospital in Ajax and later transferred to Sunnybrook for emergency treatment for his injuries.
A veterinary clinic employee, who arrived after the shooting, told CP24 the business opens at 7:30 a.m. on Mondays, and four or five people are usually in the building at that time.
The SIU is investigating, which is standard procedure when a police officer is involved in an incident where a person is seriously injured or killed.
Meanwhile, Kingston Road is closed between Glenanna Road and Valley Farm Road for an investigation.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the SIU at 416-622-1953 or 1-800-787-8529 ext. 1953
With files from CP24’s Jackie Crandles and CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry
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