Two men who died of gunshot wounds after an incident on a sidewalk in Toronto's east end shot each other, Toronto police said.

In a news conference, Toronto police explained that the two men had a pre-existing conflict, and fatally wounded each other in a gun battle in March.

Jonathan Stefan Khan, 20, and Shawn Chestnut-Reddick, 22, both of Toronto, were shot on a Danforth Avenue sidewalk east of Woodbine Avenue the night of March 19.

Khan and Chestnut-Reddick were known to each other prior to the incident, and were part of the same social circles, Toronto Police Det. Shawn Mahoney told reporters Wednesday morning.

Police say they were made aware of the conflict by those who knew the victims, but investigators refused to speculate on the nature of the disagreement.

Mahoney said he believes the men met by chance on the night of the shooting. They began to quarrel, and the fight quickly turned physical. Police do not know which man drew his gun first.

The mother of one of the victims spoke to the media at Toronto police headquarters on Wednesday, offering a warning to other men in her son's situation.

"(Khan) hasn't lived a full life yet. And no matter what, he didn't deserve to die," Tina Khan told media through tears.

"My son is the love of my life, and this has been a very difficult time for our family. No other parent should have to go through this kind of a loss."

She said she hopes more is done to get guns off the street, and warned other gun-toting young men that they are not invincible.

One of the guns was found under Khan's body, but police said the second firearm has not been recovered. Mahoney said that a third party fled the scene of the shooting with the gun, and the homicide unit is still looking for the weapon.

The men were rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds to their chests after the shooting at 8:45 p.m., where they died of their injuries.

Khan was shot seven times and Chestnut-Reddick was shot three times, Mahoney said.

At the conference, Mahoney thanked a number of witnesses who came forward with information during the course of the investigation.