Key takeaways:
- Two men were pronounced dead at the scene, and six other people were injured during the shooting at Salsa on St. Clair.
- Toronto police said about 13,000 people were attending the festival when gunfire was reported around 8:12 p.m. Saturday.
- Police recovered two firearms, were investigating at least three crime scenes and had made no arrests as of Saturday night, NPR reported.
Two people were killed and six others were injured Saturday night when gunfire erupted during Salsa on St. Clair, a crowded Toronto festival celebrating Latino culture, police said.
Toronto Police Service Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said the shooting was reported around 8:12 p.m. in the area of St. Clair and Arlington avenues, where an estimated 13,000 people were attending the annual street festival.
“There seemed to be an exchange of gunfire between individuals targeting each other,” Barredo said at a news conference. He said the shooters “obviously” put “vast numbers of people in great danger.”
Two men were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Five other people suffered gunshot wounds, and another person was hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Four of the wounded were taken to hospitals with serious injuries, Barredo said.
Police recovered two guns and were working through at least three crime scenes. Barredo described the investigation as “complex.” No arrests had been made as of Saturday night, NPR reported, and police had not said whether any shooter was among the dead or injured or whether investigators were still searching for anyone involved.
The violence interrupted one of Toronto’s major cultural festivals, a two-day event featuring music, dance, food and art along St. Clair Avenue. This year marked the festival’s 22nd year. It began Saturday and had been scheduled to continue Sunday, but organizers said the event would not resume because of the police investigation.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened” by the shooting, festival organizers said in a statement posted on their website. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two people who were killed, those who were injured, and everyone affected by this senseless violence.”
Mayor Olivia Chow condemned the shooting and said she was especially troubled because the festival draws families and children.
“I’m deeply disturbed and angry about this reckless, irresponsible act of violence right in the middle of a festival,” Chow said at the news conference.
Witnesses described sudden panic as shots rang out and the crowd scattered. Pamela Garcia told Toronto outlet CP24 she heard three shots and saw people running and screaming. Another witness, Jacy Lin, said she was near the festival’s salsa stage when people began rushing toward it, police arrived, the music stopped and attendees started leaving.
“I was walking from here and there was like a yellow tape, and I saw a bunch of paramedics coming down with a man and they were just doing CPR,” Lin said. “And he had like an oxygen tank and everything, and he didn’t look well.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on social media that he was “horrified” by the shooting.
“My prayers are with the families grieving their loved ones, those who are in critical condition, and everyone who has been affected by this horrific event,” Carney said. “Police have my full support as they work to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
NPR reported that fatal shootings are rare in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, which has strict gun laws and historically less gun crime, though gun violence has increased in recent years and has been connected to gang activity. Toronto police data cited by NPR showed at least 33 shootings in the city this year as of July 5.
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