One dead, boy and woman wounded in downtown Toronto shooting: police

TORONTO — Police say a 21-year-old man is dead and a boy and a woman were wounded in a shooting in downtown Toronto. Police Chief Mark Saunders said the "brazen" shooting happened shortly after 4 p.m.

TORONTO — Police say a 21-year-old man is dead and a boy and a woman were wounded in a shooting in downtown Toronto.

Police Chief Mark Saunders said the "brazen" shooting happened shortly after 4 p.m.

Saunders said the two males were targeted and the woman was an innocent bystander.

Police originally said the male victim who died was 16.

"We don't know where the victims were coming from. There were walking in two groups of two," Saunders told a news conference Tuesday on the street near the shooting scene.

"As they crossed on to the west side of the curb, that is when the suspect vehicle made a U-turn and engaged in firing."

They were reports of people screaming and running from the scene near the intersection of King and Peter streets.

Saunders said police have recovered one firearm and were searching for suspects in a blue vehicle.

Police say the wounded include a 15-year-old boy and a 27-year-old woman. Both are expected to recover.

Saunders said the female victim was an innocent bystander.

"By all indications it looks like the female who was shot has absolutely nothing to do with this, absolutely nothing," he said. 

"Just standing there and because of the suspect just shooting randomly an innocent person was caught in that crossfire."

Saunders said police are confident they will solve the case because of the amount of evidence they have already collected.

He noted investigators will have access to images from video cameras in the area.  

Toronto city councillor Joe Cressy, who represents the area where the shooting took place, expressed his disappointment on Twitter.

"Our vibrant downtown community shaken," Cressy wrote. "While Toronto Police Services investigates and our city's crisis response team mobilizes to support those affected, collectively as a city we must all loudly reject this violence and work to stop it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2020.

The Canadian Press