Two masked gunmen burst into a North York moving business and opened fire on employees Thursday morning in a suspected robbery gone bad.
Toronto Police have confirmed two people were shot just before 10:20 a.m. during the incident at Hercules Moving & Storage on Magnetic Dr. — near Dufferin St. and Steeles Ave. W.
“Our evidence tells us right now that this was in fact a robbery,” Chief Mark Saunders said at the scene as heavily armed tactical officers secured the area.
“Two suspects arrived on scene, demands were made and people were shot,” he added.
One man was rushed to a Toronto trauma centre after being driven to a nearby hospital in York Region.
A woman was also wounded by gunfire and taken to hospital. And a third victim, also a woman, was taken to hospital suffering from anxiety.
Saunders said it appears the moving company was “targeted” by the gunmen, who are believed to have fled on foot.
It was not immediately clear why the bandits targeted the business and no suspect descriptions were released.
Damon Moran, a contractor for Hercules who arrived at work to “switch trucks” a few minutes after the armed robbery, said he felt “very lucky” he didn’t get caught up in the gunfire.
“As I showed up, I called my boss and he told me there was a shooting,” Moran, 28, said, standing in a Home Depot parking lot across the street.
Moments later, police arrived, broke down the door and went inside, he said, explaining officers located two colleagues who were “inside hiding” and escorted them out.
They were “shaken up,” Moran said, adding one women had no shoes so he gave her a spare pair from his vehicle.
The victims are co-workers but he said he doesn’t know them well because he has only worked for the company for about a month.
He said he’s “worried” about them and hopes they are all “OK.”
“And I’m grateful that I’m safe,” he added.
Timea Fabok, who works next door at Alliance Floor Source, heard someone screaming to “call 911” and initially thought it might be a “prank.”
After making the call, she and her co-workers waited inside until police arrived and evacuated the businesses in the industrial complex.
“It’s actually very scary,” Fabok said at the scene, adding gun violence is “happening way too often” in the city.
As of Nov. 9, there had been 427 shooting incidents and 640 shooting victims in the city so far this year — up 18% and 31% respectively from the same period in 2018, a year that saw record highs for both.
Anyone with information regarding the moving company robbery is asked to call police at 416-808-3200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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