A man is dead after a shooting at an early morning shooting at Queen Street East nightclub.
Toronto police responded to the establishment on Queen Street east of Parliament Street just before 2 a.m. after receiving multiple 911 calls about a shooting.
Once on scene, officers located a male victim in a doorway with multiple gunshot wounds.
Despite efforts by paramedics to revive the man, he was ultimately pronounced dead on scene.
“We are still trying to determine what happened. We are speaking with people who were in the club, there were some witnesses who called 911 and we are speaking to them as well plus we are trying to obtain the video footage from the area,” Duty Inspector Jim Gotel told CP24 at the scene.
“At this point in time, I don’t have a suspect description.”
Reports from the scene suggest that the nightclub was busy at the time of the shooting and that patrons rushed for cover in the rear of the establishment when the shots rang out.
Police happened to be in the area at the time and were able to immediately respond to the scene.
“It sounded like firecrackers going off in there,” said one man, who was walking to a nearby drug store at the time of the shooting.
“I heard about four shots.”
On Friday morning, multiple shell casings could be seen on the sidewalk outside the nightclub alongside a body that was covered by an orange tarp.
Forensic officers could also be seen combing the scene for evidence. A black SUV sealed with police tape was later towed away from the scene, however it’s not known how it is related to the case at this point.
A portion of Queen Street East was closed until mid-morning Friday to allow for an investigation.
“This is Toronto now, no gun control,” a resident said. “We see it too often right now. We’re not tough enough on crime.”
Police are asking anyone in the neighbourhood who saw something relevant or captured something on a dashboard or security camera to contact them.
