A 27-year-old man is dead after an early-morning shooting near a downtown hotel, just steps away from the Eaton Centre and Toronto City Hall.
According to one witness, as many as seven gunshots rang out at approximately 2:45 a.m. when police were called to the area Bay Street and Dundas Street East.
"I heard a pop, pop, pop," hotel guest Bill Martin told CTV Toronto. "I'm a shooter so I know and understand guns so I thought maybe it was gunfire."
Within minutes of the shooting, heavily-armed Emergency Task Force officers entered the Marriott Hotel on Bay Street, searching for a possible suspect.
A video shot by a person who lives in a nearby condo shows the victim, identified by police as Kabil Abdulkhadir, lying on a road. The 27-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, paramedics say.
Witnesses say the shooter ran towards the hotel. Investigators, however, say they are unsure whether multiple shooters were involved. It's also unclear if the suspect ran through the hotel lobby or out a back entrance.
"We're still here on scene, the roadway is closed down and we're still processing the scene," Det. Joyce Schertzer told reporters Sunday morning.
As a precaution, hotel guests were temporarily not allowed to leave or enter the building during the police investigation.
A homicide investigation is now underway.
No suspects have been arrested, but police are analyzing video footage and interviewing hotel guests.
"Many of the occupants of the rooms would have had a very good vantage point," Schertzer said.
She added that investigators have "just scratched the surface of the witness pool" and are appealing to any witnesses to call 52 Division at 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
A post-mortem examination has been scheduled for Monday at 10:30 a.m.
Abdulkhadir was known to police, CTV Toronto has confirmed. He was charged by police in 2009 after he was pulled over by officers for allegedly having a loaded firearm inside his car.
With a report from CTV Toronto's John Musselman
