Shooting at Toronto birthday party leaves three children, man injured: police
A 'brazen' shooting at a child's birthday party in Rexdale Saturday evening left a man and three children, including a one-year-old boy, injured, Toronto police say.
Emergency crews rushed to the area of Tandridge Crescent and Byng Avenue, east of Albion Road, just before 8 p.m. for reports of shots fired.
Officers arrived and located four victims – a one-year-old child, a five-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man with gunshot wounds.
Toronto police Supt. Ron Taverner told reporters at the scene that the one-year-old was grazed by a bullet while the man was shot in the leg.
All were transported to trauma centres via an emergency rush.
Toronto paramedics said they took a total of five victims to the hospital. One of the children is in life-threatening condition, one is in serious condition and the third sustained minor injuries.
They also took two men to the hospital, one with serious injuries and the other with minor injuries. It is not known at this time if the fifth victim sustained gunshot injuries.
Police said they could not confirm how many people were at the gathering at the time of the incident.
A shooting happened at a child's birthday party in Etobicoke that sent four people to hospital, including three children.
"It's unconscionable. It's hard to believe," Taverner said.
When asked if this was a targeted shooting, he said it is too early in the investigation to determine that.
"But at this particular time, it doesn't look like any of the people that were shot were particularly targeted. It seems like that they were just there and happened to be… ended up being shot by the shooters."
Taverner said they believe the suspects fled the scene using a vehicle that was seen speeding away.
"At this particular time, we're working on descriptions of suspects, and we can't provide anything concrete right at the present time," Taverner said.
In a later update, Duty Inspector Kelly Skinner confirmed that there is more than one suspect involved.
"We don't know what led to the actual shooting," she said, adding that when officers arrived at the scene, it was "chaotic."
"There's nothing more brazen than children outside in a gathering and this kind of violence happening outside right in front of them… It's absolutely tragic."
Skinner said officers are canvassing the area, talking to residents in the neighbourhood for information.
"What we're doing right now is appealing for the community. We're appealing to everybody in this area. This is a tragedy. There were three children who were shot here tonight. We absolutely need your help," she said.
"If you were driving in this area, please check your dash cams. If you have a security video, please check that. If you have any information, please give us a call at 23 Division."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army ordered some 100,000 Palestinians on Monday to begin evacuating from the southern city of Rafah, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent and further complicating efforts to broker a cease-fire in Gaza.