Suspects arrested after gunshot victim found in crashed vehicle in Scarborough: police

Police tape is shown at the scene of an investigation near Bellamy Road and Lawrence Avenue on Nov. 15, 2024.

Two suspects are in custody after police say they located a person with a gunshot wound inside a vehicle that fled from officers and later crashed in Scarborough on Friday morning.

Toronto Police Service Duty Senior Officer Brian Maslowski said police received a call early Friday morning from an individual who reported a “concerning message” they received from a friend.

The message, Maslowski said, contained a photo of the friend being threatened with a firearm.

He said officers were able to identify a suspect vehicle, and when they located and attempted to stop that vehicle in the area of Bellamy Road and Lawrence Avenue, the suspects fled.

Hours later, at around 7:45 a.m., that same car was involved in a collision with another vehicle near Midland and McNicoll avenues.

Maslowski said two suspects were found in the vehicle with the victim, who had sustained a gunshot wound.

The two suspects, ages 17 and 19, were taken into custody and all three occupants of the vehicle were sent to hospital for treatment. He said the victim, who is in his early 20s, was transported to a trauma centre with serious injuries. Two firearms were also recovered, police said.

An occupant of the other vehicle involved in the crash also received treatment in hospital for minor injuries, Maslowski noted.

“It is a complex investigation so I can’t share much,” Maslowski told reporters on Friday afternoon.

He said police are still waiting to get a thorough account of what happened from the victim, who remains in hospital.

Police are asking anyone with dash camera or video surveillance footage of the area at the time of the incident to contact investigators or Crime Stoppers anonymously.