Man shot in a car outside Woodbridge plaza: police

A man is in critical condition in hospital after he was shot in a car outside a Woodbridge plaza on Thursday afternoon.

York Regional Police say they were called to a parking lot at the northwest corner of Highway 7 and Pine Valley Drive at 2:07 p.m. for reports of a male shot in a vehicle.

They arrived to find a man suffering from at least one gunshot wound.

He was rushed to a hospital trauma centre for treatment.

Investigators said they are searching for a suspect vehicle that fled the scene.

“I've heard people don't want to get involved but if you have any information that will help us solve or reverse engineer what has taken place here, we need you to come forward and help us solve this,” Staff Sgt. David Mitchell told reporters at the scene. “I sound like a broken record right now. But if you saw anything, if you have any information, you may have that little piece of the puzzle that you may think is insignificant but that may lead us in the right direction as far as what has taken place here.”

Mitchell told reporters that the investigation into the shooting “is still in its infancy.”

He said that forensic officers are on scene and are searching for evidence.

He said that investigators are also in contact with the property management company responsible for the plaza and are hopeful that several visible surveillance cameras may have captured what transpired.

Meanwhile, uniformed officers are conducting a canvass in the area in the hopes of locating witnesses.

“We're working at processing this scene as quickly as we can but when it comes to forensic evidence, we only get one shot at it and one shot only,” Mitchell said, noting that access to the plaza will likely be restricted for the rest of the day.