Road rage may have led to double shooting in downtown Toronto

Police say road rage may have played a part in a drive-by shooting in downtown Toronto that left two people with serious injuries as video of the incident’s aftermath surfaces.

Officers were called to an address on Charles Street West, just south of Yonge and Bloor streets, at 6:06 a.m. for reports of a shooting, police said.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Duty Insp. Michelle Olszevski said a group of people was standing outside 7 Charles Street West when a vehicle pulled up and a suspect, or suspects, opened fire.

Police initially said there were “multiple victims” following the shooting. In an update, police said two victims, a man and a woman both in their 20s, were transported to a local trauma centre with serious injuries.

In a video obtained by CTV News Toronto, one of the shooting victims can be seen being loaded into an ambulance as responding officers arrive on scene.

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Olszevski explained that leading up to the shooting, officers in the area responded to a call for stunt driving on Yonge Street involving “several” vehicles.

Investigators believe some of the drivers and passengers involved in the stunt driving incident then travelled to 7 Charles Street West and exited their vehicles, at which point the suspect vehicle pulled up and shots were fired.

“There is a possibility that this incident has occurred as a result of a road rage,” Olszevski said.

A Toronto Police Service forensics officer inspects the scene of a shooting in Toronto on Monday, July 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

The suspect vehicle is described only as a black SUV, last seen travelling northbound on Bay Street.

No description of the suspect, or suspects, is available at this time, according to Olszevski.

A witness told CP24 she heard a group of people talking loudly outside her apartment before she went out for a morning walk.

Once she got to Charles Street, she said she heard as many as 13 gun shots.

“I was scared. I just rushed. I couldn’t look back,” she told CP24, adding members of the group then started “running to save themselves.”

Investigators with the Toronto Police Service’s Gun and Gang Task Force, forensic identification services and 52 Division officers are on scene.

Road closures in the area are in effect and are expected to remain in place as an investigation gets underway.

Anyone who may have been in the area at the time of the shooting or has information that could help investigators is asked to contact police at 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously. 

Police officers and detectives take notes as they talk at the scene of a shooting in Toronto on Monday, July 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn