TORONTO — A shooting in downtown Toronto that sent two people to hospital with serious injuries Monday morning could be the result of road rage following street racing, police said as they worked to identify those responsible.
Toronto police said they were called to 7 Charles St. West, just one block south of Toronto's busy Yonge and Bloor intersection, just after 6 a.m. for what they described as a drive-by shooting.
Duty Insp. Michelle Olszevski said officers arrived to find a man and a woman in their 20s suffering from gunshot wounds. They were taken to nearby trauma centres where they were in serious but non-life-threatening condition hours later.
Before the shooting, police got a call about stunt driving taking place on Yonge Street shortly before 6 a.m., Olszevski said.
"The vehicles and occupants of the vehicles involved in this stunt driving call were also in front of 7 Charles St. at the time of this shooting," she said.
"There is a possibility that this incident has occurred as a result of a road rage."
Aiman Fatima, who lives with her family in a condo building near the scene, said she left the building for a morning walk around 6 a.m. Monday and saw a group of 10 to 12 people, mostly in their 20s, speaking with each other.
She said she didn't notice any aggressive behaviour from the group. A minute later, she walked by and was about to turn on Yonge Street when she heard what she said were 12 to 14 gunshots.
She said she ran away without looking back, and saw others doing the same.
"I was very scared," she said while standing outside a police barricade set up around the scene.
“Everyone just ran away to save themselves, I didn’t look back,” she added. “I ran away on the opposite side.”
Two single women's shoes could be seen in the middle of the crime scene. A Forensic Identification Services truck was also on scene.
Fatima said she started going on morning walks around two weeks ago, but she may stop due to safety concerns. She called for more security measures in the area such as additional surveillance cameras.
Lindsay Turchin, who lives in an apartment overlooking the scene, said her partner witnessed people running away. She said there has been crime, particularly stabbings, in the area before but this is the first time she's experienced a shooting so close by.
"A lot of us heard gunshots," she said through tears. "One or two, I thought 'car backfiring,' and then it just kept going. I lost count."
John Wimbs, who lives six blocks away from the scene, said he still feels safe walking on the streets, and a number of recent shootings and stabbings aren't very worrying for him.
“When you see these things happening, I mean this is not new to Toronto," he said as he walked by the scene of the shooting. "I have lived here for many years, you know, there has been violence."
Reported shootings are down approximately 30 per cent so far this year compared to last year, according to police data recorded up to Saturday. There have been 152 shootings and firearm discharges this year compared to 218 by this point in 2022, 187 in 2021, 225 in 2020 and 192 in 2019.
Olszevski said police are searching for a black SUV last seen travelling westbound from the scene to Bay Street, where it turned and travelled north. Police did not yet have a description of the suspect or suspects.
“(The victims) may have been involved in the stunt driving incident as well but that’s still being actively investigated," she said.
She appealed for any witnesses or anyone with information or video footage of the shooting or SUV to come forward to police.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2023.
Tyler Griffin and Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press
