A youth is in police custody following a double stabbing in a mall parking lot in Mississauga Thursday afternoon.
Shortly before 2 p.m., Peel Regional Police received a call about a stabbing outside of Erin Mills Town Centre, near Erin Mills Parkway and Eglinton Avenue West,.
Two male victims were rushed to a trauma centre in critical condition, Peel Regional Paramedic Services said. Police did not give their exact ages, but described them as youths.
One of them has since been upgraded to stable, police told CP24, while the other remains in critical condition. The victim is reportedly an up-and-coming rapper, one of his friends told CP24 Thursday night.
Witnesses told police that a suspect – described as a South Asian male between 15 and 17 years old who was wearing a black t-shirt and grey Nike sweatpants – fled on foot. Police said later Thursday evening that they had a suspect in custody.
“We don’t know exactly the circumstances surrounding what happened but we do not believe there to be any public safety risk at this time,” Const. Sarah Patten told CP24 at the scene.
She said it is not yet clear whether the victims and the suspect knew each other or what might have motivated the stabbing.
“It’s my understanding that the incident actually began on school property and then came over into this parking lot area,” Patten said.
Several items of clothing and what looked like a backpack could be seen lying between two vehicles at the scene Thursday as police searched the area.
Police are asking anyone with information to come forward to investigators.
“We do ask anyone with any information to contact our 11 Division Criminal Investigation Bureau and if you do have video surveillance or dashcam footage, please check it,” Patten said.
