Suspects sought after 3 children wounded in shooting at toddler's birthday party in Toronto
Police are trying to locate multiple suspects who investigators say indiscriminately fired gunshots into a crowd at a toddler’s birthday party in Rexdale on Saturday night, wounding four people, including three children.
Gunshots rang out in the area of Tandridge Crescent and Byng Avenue shortly before 8 p.m. and emergency crews arrived on scene to find four victims, including a one-year-old child, a five-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy, and a 23-year-old man, suffering from gunshot wounds.
They were transported to hospital via emergency run with injuries ranging from minor to critical.
The family of the five-year-old girl, who initially suffered life-threatening injuries, told CP24 that she is now in stable condition.
The one-year-old, who was grazed by a bullet, has been released from hospital.
Speaking at the scene on Sunday afternoon, Supt. Ron Taverner said that the 11-year-old boy was shot in the buttock and is expected to make a full recovery.
Taverner was unable to provide an update on the condition of the 23-year-old wounded in the shooting, but investigators told CP24 on Saturday that he sustained a gunshot wound to the leg.
“Obviously a horrific, horrific set of events.... I've been a police officer for a number of years and this is one of the most disturbing scenes when you see young people like this indiscriminately shot. It's disgusting,” he said.
“Our hearts go out to the community. It's a terrible situation for anyone that lives in this area.”
Taverner would not say how many suspects police are looking for but investigators believe the perpetrators fled southbound on foot and took off in a waiting vehicle.
“There was a vehicle that was seen leaving the area. At this particular time we are not giving out that information. There are various reasons for that. Even the same with the suspect descriptions. We will be releasing that information soon but right now we're not,” he said.
Police are still trying to determine a motive for the brazen, daylight shooting.
“We don't believe at all that children were the targets of this. As far as motive, I can't say right now... there are a number of theories out there. A number of people have their own ideas of why this happened,” Taverner told reporters.
“We are just trying to work through all that and I can tell you that we have the resources to solve this crime and we will solve it.”
The Toronto Police Service’s forensic identification unit is currently on scene and is working to collect and preserve evidence.
Taverner said officers are also reviewing video surveillance footage from the area.
“There are video cameras that are placed all around and they were working. That's all I'll say about that,” he added.
Investigators were seen in the area searching dumpsters for evidence but Taverner said he does not believe any weapons have been recovered at this point.
A police source told CP24 Sunday said that a warrant has been obtained to search a residence on Tandridge Crescent.
Police are urging members of the public to come forward with any information they have about the incident.
“It is so important for people to come forward, people to give us information of what they saw or even what they believe happened or who they believe is involved. We need help,” Taverner said Sunday.
“We can have all kinds of investigators here, but if we don't get support from the community it makes our job twice as hard.”
In a statement released Sunday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the perpetrators of the shooting “must be found and brought to justice.”
“The shooting that took place in Rexdale last night is inconceivable and beyond comprehension,” Ford said in a tweet.
Ford encouraged those who may have witnessed the incident to contact police.
The premier’s comments echo statements made by Toronto Mayor John Tory earlier in the day.
“My heart goes out to the victims and the families of the victims and to all the people that were involved, because this is a traumatizing experience for that neighbourhood, which is a wonderful neighbourhood full of wonderful people,” Tory said during an interview with CP24 on Sunday morning.
“This is irresponsible, outrageous behaviour. There is no other way to put it.”
Tory also encouraged anyone with information about the incident to reach out to investigators.
“I really, really hope in this case, so we can bring these people to justice and apply the full weight of the law, that people who were around there or there who saw something... they will confide in the police or in Crime Stoppers so we can track these people down and deal with them,” Tory said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Canucks' Soucy suspended 1 game, Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosschecks on McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been suspended for a game and another was handed a hefty fine after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.