Toronto shooting: 12 injured at Scarborough pub
Three suspects are still at large after 12 people were injured in a shooting at a pub in Toronto, police in the Canadian city say.
The shooting took place at 22:39 on Friday local time (03:39 GMT Saturday) near Scarborough city centre in eastern Toronto.
Authorities said six people suffered gunshot wounds and others were hurt by flying or broken glass. The injuries were not life-threatening, they said.
Toronto police said the three men had entered the pub and “opened fire indiscriminately”. They had been armed with an assault rifle and handguns.
A motive “right now remains unclear and we’re chasing down all leads”, said Police Supt Paul MacIntyre.
“This was a brazen and reckless act of violence that’s really shaken our community and the city itself,” he added.
Police said they were deploying all available resources to find the suspects.
Earlier, they said that one suspect, wearing a black balaclava, had been seen fleeing the scene in a silver car.
The victims ranged in age from 20s to mid-50, according to police.
“I’m happy to report, by the grace of God, that there have been no fatalities,” Supt MacIntyre said, which he called “extremely lucky.”
He said he and other officers were “horrified” by video of the shooting.
“These guys just looked at the crowd and opened fire. It was horrible.”
Glass walls were shattered and there was “blood all over the floor”, including in the basement, where some people ran to hide before police arrived, he said.
Mayor Olivia Chow wrote on X that she was “deeply troubled to hear reports of a shooting at a pub in Scarborough.”
“This is an early and ongoing investigation – police will provide further details. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
The number of those injured in this incident is high compared to other shootings in the area in 2024.
Last year, eight people were injured and two killed in shootings and firearm discharges in the police division where Friday’s incident occurred, the department’s data shows.
In Toronto, which has a three million population, 43 people were killed in shootings last year.
Canada has a lower rate of firearm homicides than its neighbour the US, with 0.6 per 100,000 people compared to 4.5 per 100,000, according to 2021 data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
