Toronto police say a woman who was injured after shots were fired in North York Wednesday night is expected to make a full recovery.
The woman was originally rushed to Sunnybrook Hospital in an emergency run with what was described as a gunshot wound to the head.
“She was up there waiting for her bus and then she couldn't wait anymore, so she decided to walk. And that's when she get shot and she run, come back home here,” a woman who did not want to be identified told CTV News Toronto.
The woman said her neighbor’s teenaged niece was the victim.
“We not safe,” she said, “We could be out in we backyard and it could be someone else.”
Police say they received multiple calls about the sounds of gunfire near Grandravine Drive and Arleta Avenue around 10:15 p.m. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a female victim bleeding from her head.
“I’m devastated, heartbroken,” says Alicia, a resident of the townhouse complex on Grandravine Drive. “I heard the shots go off. (It) sounded like seven or eight shots, and then I heard a girl scream.”
The woman was rushed to hospital with what were believed to be life-threatening injuries, but police later determined that the woman had a minor wound.
An officer told CTV News Toronto that they are not sure if the woman was actually grazed by a bullet, or if she injured the side of her face when she was diving to take cover.
Still, area residents say this does little to ease their anxiety.
“It's very dangerous. I don’t feel safe living around the neighbourhood,” says Jacqueline Bolanos. “I've lived here for over 40 years and this is just getting worse and worse every day.”
Police have very limited suspect information. They say a male was seen fleeing the area on foot and he was possibly wearing a grey tracksuit. At this point, they don’t know if the woman was targeted.
Alicia says she believes the victim was an innocent bystander.
“It could have been anybody that was outside, not expecting anything like that to happen, and all of sudden become a victim.”
