A man is dead after being shot dead by police near a primary school on Thursday afternoon, Toronto police said, causing hundreds of children at nearby schools to be blocked.
Police were initially called to Maberley Crescent and Oxhorn Road to report a man carrying a rifle on the street around 1 p.m.
About 20 minutes later, paramedics were called to the corner of Lawrence Avenue East and Port Union Road for a reported shooting.
Police said a police officer fired a firearm at the suspect, hitting the man at least once.
Video obtained from the scene shows police officers cutting off a section of Port Union Road. An orange tarpaulin appeared, covering something on the sidewalk.
At a news conference Thursday night, Toronto Police Chief James Ramer called the incident “traumatic” for all involved.
“We certainly understand the trauma and how traumatic it must have been for staff, students and parents given the two recent events in the United States,” he said.
“We will strengthen patrols in the area and continue to work with our school and community partners and the services will be available to those who need these services.”
A spokesman for the Toronto Police Association confirmed that two TPS officers were transported to a hospital after the incident but received no physical injuries. No further injuries were reported.
A man died after a shooting near a primary school in Toronto on Thursday. (CTV News Toronto)
A young girl from William G. Davis told CP24 that she was in her science class when the class received a message from the principal that they were entering a blockade.
“It’s not a workout, get under your desks,” she recalled being told.
“Some of us were spinning around, some of us were kind of scared. After 10 minutes I realized that this is not a workout.
She said they had not been told anything for some time and anxiety was growing in the classroom.
“I thought someone was trying to break into the school – I just said to myself – this is probably the end,” she said.
She and her classmates were later released from school.
Another witness told CP24 that they heard “three quick shots” and then saw officers trying to revive a man on the sidewalk.
The witness said CP24 officers told him they were looking for a man on a bicycle with a rifle in the area.
Joseph Howe High School, Sir Oliver Moat Collegiate Institute, St. Brandon ”and the young William J. Public School. Davis “were initially locked up.
Charlottetown Children’s Public School and Centennial Road Young Public School were detained and secured.
By 15:00 all blockages and detention and security had been lifted.
The Special Investigations Department (SIU), the agency responsible for investigating circumstances involving police that led to death or serious injury, confirmed that they had invoked their mandate since Thursday’s incident.
With files from Chris Herhalt from CP24.
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