Toronto police are searching for at least two suspects after a shooting in a Toronto Community Housing highrise in Parkdale that left one person dead and three others injured on Tuesday.
Police and paramedics were called to a 19-storey TCHC building on Dunn Avenue, just south of Queen Street West, shortly after 5:30 p.m. for a shooting.
Acting Insp. Craig Young told reporters at the scene that the first victim was located in the lobby of the building. Officers performed life-saving measures on the victim, who was later rushed to a trauma centre in serious condition.
Young said a second victim, an adult male, was found inside a unit on the third floor. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A third victim, a woman, fled the building and "sought refuge" on a TTC bus on Queen Street, Young said. There is no word on her condition, but her injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening.
Police later learned that a fourth victim, a man, walked into a local hospital. Young said his injuries are also not considered life-threatening.
Officers are now looking for at least two male suspects. Police have only released limited descriptions of the two.
"We've got officers going floor to floor, stairwell to stairwell firstly to see if there are any suspects – to locate suspects and also to confirm that there are no further victims," Young said, adding that officers are also actively searching surrounding areas.
When asked if the person taken into police custody at the scene was connected to the incident, Young said he could not confirm if the individual was one of the suspects in the shooting.
"I don't know the connection right now. I just know someone has been taken into custody," he said.
Young also cannot confirm if the shooting was targeted or if a nearby incident on Monday is related. Police were called to the area of Dunn Avenue and King Street West for reports of gunshots, and when they arrived, no victims were located, but shell casings were found.
"It's obviously in very close proximity…but we cannot confirm at this point in time whether, in fact, they are related," Young said.
He noted that the investigation, which has now been taken over by the homicide unit, is very "dynamic."
"It's just too fluid. We just have multiple locations for the victims. I can't surmise as to how many actual shooting locations there were," Young said.
As for public safety, he said police believe there is no threat.
Several residents were not allowed to enter the building as police were conducting their sweep. A TTC bus was brought in to offer shelter for the residents.
"We're trying to be as accommodating to the residents as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience," Young said. "We understand the plight that they're going through, but obviously, public safety takes precedence at this point in time."
Tayler Corriveau was one of the residents who had to wait outside for police to finish their search.
"The police officer told me that I couldn't go into the building or pass the tape because there was a shooter and the shooter was still in the building," Corriveau said.
While she was not surprised about what happened, Corriveau said it was still very concerning.
"It's not really the safest (area), especially not at nighttime," she told CTV News Toronto. "I wouldn't really assume that there'd be a shooting, I guess. But other bad stuff usually happens around here."
"I'm a little worried to come back to this building because I don't want to end up in the same situation," Corriveau added.
Other residents called on the management to provide more security, saying that they don't feel safe living in the building.
"I'm kind of like tired of TCHC not doing better at providing a safe environment," one resident said.
- with files from CTV News Toronto's Jon Woodward
