One man is dead and one woman was injured following a shooting downtown this morning.
Shots rang out near King Street and Spadina Avenue shortly after midnight.
“We had officers who were conducting a ride spot check on Spadina just south of King at the same time. They also heard numerous gunshots,” Insp. Darren Alldrit told reporters on Wednesday morning.
“They immediately ran to the scene where they located a male and a female who had suffered gunshot wounds.”
Reports from the scene say the man was shot in the neck and the female sustained a gunshot wound to her leg.
The man, who is believed to be in his 20s, was rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition but was later pronounced dead.
The female, who was also taken to hospital for treatment, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
“I have no suspect information at this time. Our homicide squad has been called in and they will be conducting the investigation from here on in,” Alldrit said.
“We are asking… anybody that saw anything in the area, anybody with dash cam video, any business owners if they have video to please contact our homicide squad.”
Investigators later identified a suspect vehicle, described as a blue Mazda hatchback.
King Street was closed from Portland Street to Spadina Avenue for the police investigation but the area has since reopened to traffic.
On Wednesday morning, evidence of the gunfire was visible on the busy stretch of King Street.
One business owner arrived at her cafe this morning to find bullet holes in the windows.
Another woman dropped off flowers at the scene in honour of the victim.
“If I had a loved one that had passed, I would want people to remember them,” the woman, who did not provide her name, said.
The deadly shooting makes the city’s 95th homicide of the year.
The 94th murder happened just hours earlier outside a North York apartment building.
Lawrence Errol Joel John was shot dead while sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle parked outside a building on San Romanoway, near Jane Street and Finch Avenue, at around 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
Police say the 28-year-old had come to Canada from St. Vincent and the Grenadines about a year ago.
On the same day, by 10 a.m., police responded to a shooting near Bathurst Street and Vaughan Road in midtown Toronto. A man was reportedly standing with a group of people in a nearby laneway when he was ambushed by a gunman.
The victim, whose identity is not known, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Police later said he is expected to survive.
No arrests have been made nor has information about a suspect or suspects been released.
About four hours later, bullets were fired near Finch and Driftwood avenues.
A male believed to be in his 20s suffered gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital in serious condition. No arrests have been made.
In the city’s northwest end, near Keele Street and Ingram Drive, another shooting unfolded.
The incident took place at around 8 p.m., police said, and sent a male to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Again, no arrests have been made.
By Wednesday morning, the concerning swell in violence prompted Toronto’s mayor to contact the chief of police.
“He assured me Toronto Police are doing everything possible to investigate these crimes and bring those responsible for such cowardly acts to justice,” he wrote in a statement.
“We also discussed the determination we have to dramatically reduce the supply of illegal guns and to invest in families and neighbourhoods, both of which will be essential to reducing these unacceptable levels of violence in our city.”
Anyone with information about any of the incidents is being asked to call Toronto police or Crime Stoppers.