Police say they are investigating after a dog was shot and killed at a park in downtown Toronto on Tuesday night.
Police said they were called to Barbara Hall Park, located near Church and Wellesley streets, shortly after 11 p.m. for a reported shooting.
Toronto Police Const. Victor Kwong told CP24 that at first, there were conflicting reports about whether it was a person or an animal that had been shot.
He said about a half an hour before the shooting, there was an altercation between two males who “appear to be unknown to each other."
According to police, one of the males left the area but returned a short time later and shot the other man’s dog before fleeing the scene.
Kwong said officers helped the man take the body of his deceased companion to an emergency vet.
The dog was three years old, Kwong said, but he could not confirm the breed.
No arrests have been made in the case.
Police are continuing to canvass for video surveillance footage and witnesses.
"Obviously the charges will depend on what is found from evidence as the investigation unfolds," Kwong said outside Toronto police headquarters on Wednesday.
"But it could be firearm-related charges, having one, shooting one… and as well, cruelty or bringing death to an animal."
