Police are investigating after shots were fired at Yorkdale Mall following an altercation between at least six men, Toronto police said Thursday afternoon.
No one was injured by gunfire in the incident, police said, but two people were hurt in the scramble to exit the mall, one sustaining a leg injury, the other sustaining an injury to their arm. Police said the injuries were minor.
“There was an altercation between two groups of men. At some point, one of the individuals from one of the groups discharged a firearm at least twice, a handgun,” said Toronto police Supt. Rob Johnson. There were at least three men in each group, he said.
Police are currently seeking two suspects, who were last scene at the south-east corner of the mall.
Police have now secured the entire mall, and officers are canvassing inside for evidence, Johnson said.
The incident occurred in the south-east corner of the shopping centre, Johnson said, “close to the security office, near the Starbucks.” After the shots were fired, the suspects fled in a south-east direction, which is in the direction of the TTC.
Subway trains are currently bypassing Yorkdale station.
Metrolinx spokesperson Anne-Marie Aikins said Go buses are “still servicing” the stop at Yorkdale Mall. Customers are able to enter and exit the buses at Yorkdale, but won’t be able to access the mall, Aikins said.
In an effort to leave, frantic shoppers have been calling Beck Taxi for a ride. “We can’t get in. So people have called here in tears, trying to walk away from the property,” said Kristine Hubbard, a spokesperson for Beck.
If people are able, they’re encouraged to get as far away from the scene as possible in order to hail a cab. “The difficulty is there are people there who need wheelchair accessible service, there are people there who need assistance getting in and out of vehicles, it’s not something that you can say to everyone,” Hubbard said.
Yorkdale spokesperson Jill Lindsay said in an emailed statement that the shopping centre would be closed for the rest of the day to allow police to investigate.
“Yorkdale is secure and we are co-operating with police to safely evacuate the centre. We expect to open as scheduled tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.,” she said.
Police said employees and customers who left their belongings inside the stores could call 416-256-5097 to make arrangements with Yorkdale Shopping Centre security in order to get their things. Those with vehicles in the underground parking lot were allowed to start retrieving their vehicles just before 5:30 p.m.
Carolina Toca, who works in the mall, was walking near Nordstrom when she heard three or four shots fired around 2:50 p.m.
“Everyone started to run like crazy,” she said. The Nordstrom is neighbours with the Starbucks that police said the shooting occurred by.
She ran to a store nearby where she said she was locked in with about 15 other people. She was then evacuated from the building by mall security.
“Everyone is OK it’s just like a lot of confusion.”
Maven Sekhon, who had gone to Yorkdale for a work lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, said when she saw people running past her, she initially didn’t think much of it.
“We saw pretty much everyone running and as they got closer they seemed more and more terrified, so we started running and were about to hide in Joey but decided to run towards the exit instead,” Sekhon told the media over Twitter.
She said she heard that there were four gunshots on the other side of the mall.
“It’s terrifying because we were almost in the area of the shooting ... less than five (minutes) before it happened,” Sekhon said. “We’re still contacting family and letting them know we’re safe and on our way home.”
Jessica Signorello, a Nordstrom employee, said that she was working when she saw a “stampede of people run into the store.”
“My employee was in front of the store where it happened and told me she heard three gunshots and she saw at least two males with fire arms running toward our store,” Signorello said. “Myself and employees and customers ran into stock room to hide for about 10 (minutes).”
Sarah Frame was back-to-school shopping with her 14-year-old daughter Amelia at Aritzia when she heard screaming.
“We looked out through the entrance of the store into the mall and just saw a mob of people all running in one direction with a look of terror on their faces,” she said.
Not knowing what to do, they got on the ground and hid in clothing racks in a corner of the store. An alarm was beeping and telling them to stand by for further instruction. But they knew it wasn’t a fire drill. After a scary 15 minutes, employees told them to evacuate.
“At that point you’re running for a mall exit, just to get out,” said Frame. “Because you just don’t know.”
They passed mall security and the Toronto police before making it out.
There were “tons” of kids in the mall, as it was packed with families back to school shopping and teens out on their own, Frame said.
Amelia said they had a quick list of things to get at the mall, and it wasn’t supposed to take long.
“You always sort of hear about shootings happening on the news but you never think it will happen to you,” she said. “And then when it does it’s really scary.”
Eric Wang and his family, who are visiting from Vancouver, had just finished eating in the food court when they heard what sounded like “distant gunshots.”
“I heard two or three, bang, bang, bang,” he said outside the mall, about an hour after the evacuation.
As people started running in all direction, he and his wife and two kids tried to hide under the table, then everybody scattered all over the place in the commotion.
Wong hid with one of his kids in the men’s washroom with many others. A few minutes later he got a text from his wife that she was safe too, hiding in the women’s washroom with their younger daughter.
While he says he’s glad no one got hurt, Wong, who has family members in Toronto, said it’s concerning that a shooting took place in such a public environment.
“It definitely makes you think about safety in Toronto. Next time we’ll think twice before visiting,” he said.
Marjorie Burgess and her husband, Jake, were inside the Apple Store when they saw a crowd of people running toward the door.
“Everybody was shouting ‘Fire! Fire! Get out of the way,’” said Burgess, as she waited for her husband to retrieve the car from the underground parking lot.
She said the store manager ushered everyone in the back room, where they stayed for about 40 minutes, huddled together. “I was in too much shock,” she said.
It took her husband more than 30 minutes to get out of the parking lot. “I’m glad I’m out. Now the issue is how to get out of this traffic mess around here,” he said.
On Twitter, Mayor John Tory said he’s relieved “there are no reports of injuries from gunfire” and thanked Toronto police and first responders.
“Whether it is Yorkdale Mall or anywhere else in Toronto, people should not have to worry about gun violence breaking out — at any time,” Tory wrote. “There are too many guns available to criminals in the city & I am determined to end that with the help of our police & our government partners.”
Police released two suspect descriptions shortly after the shooting. The first suspect was described as a black male in his 20s, wearing a hoodie and blue jeans. The second suspect was described as mixed race male in his 20s, with a skinny build and standing about 5-foot-9, carrying a black handgun. Although at least six men were involved, there are no further descriptions at this time, Johnson said.
Any witnesses are asked to call police at 416-808-3200.
This is the second time this week shots have been fired at a GTA mall. On Tuesday at around 7 p.m., York Regional Police responded to gun shots fired at Vaughan Mills Mall, south of Canada’s Wonderland. A 22-year-old man was injured. The same man was later charged by police with several firearms-related charges.
In March 2013, one man was killed and another wounded after an evening shooting in Yorkdale Shopping Centre’s parking lot. At the time, detectives said it was the result of a confrontation between two groups that spilled outside, and no bystanders were harmed.
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