A 39-year-old man is recovering in hospital after being shot by a Toronto police officer who responded to a call about a stabbing in the city’s downtown core this morning.
The officer was responding to a report of a 66-year-old man being stabbed and attacked by another man with a knife near Yonge and Dundas streets around 5:30 a.m.
Police officers arrived sometime around 6 a.m., according to Special Investigations Unit spokesperson Jason Gennaro, and confronted a 39-year-old man on Dundas Street, between Yonge and Bay streets.
During the confrontation, Gennaro says “several shots” were fired and a man was struck a number of times.
A witness said the shots were fired at the 39-year-old man after he lunged toward a police officer.
“He asked the man, put down the knife, you know? Step back, everything. The man just would not listen,” witness James Thompson told CTV Toronto. “[The] cop asked one more time and that’s when the guy jumped at him to either kill him or injure him. The officer reacted in the way like everyone else would.”
The province's SIU has since taken over the investigation.
“We’re looking at the stabbing and the shooting as related – part of a larger incident,” Gennaro told reporters at a news conference this morning.
A 66-year-old man sustained a single knife wound as a result of the initial incident and was taken to St. Michael’s Hospital where he has since been released.
Gennaro says the 39-year-old man underwent surgery for gunshot wounds and remains in hospital in non-life-threatening condition.
“Motivation is certainly something we’re looking at as we try to determine what transpired in the moments before the police shooting,” Gennaro said.
Seven SIU investigators with and three forensic investigators have been called in to probe the scene.
Gennaro added that investigators will also be looking at security camera footage from surrounding businesses to determine if the incident was captured. Police are urging any witnesses who were in the area this morning to contact investigators.
Dundas Street was shut down between Yonge and Bay streets this morning for the investigation.
The 505 Dundas streetcars were diverting eastbound via Bathurst Street, College Street and Church Street. The 506 College streetcars were diverting westbound via Parliament Street, Queen Street, and Spadina Avenue.
The SIU is an arm's length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
With files from Codi Wilson and Tamara Cherry
