A gunman has escaped after killing a man and wounding five others at Toronto's Eaton Centre, one of Canada's busiest shopping malls.
Police said two people were in a critical condition. They included a 13-year old boy, while the man killed was 25. Several people were trampled and pushed in the panic, including a pregnant woman who went into labour.
Witnesses said multiple shots were fired in the mall's food court and hundreds of panicked shoppers sprinted for the exits. The mall, which is popular with tourists, was evacuated. People watched from outside as an injured man with visible bullet wounds was wheeled out on a stretcher.
The Toronto Blue Jays baseball player Brett Lawrie tweeted that he sprinted out of the mall after hearing the shots. "People sprinting up the stairs right from where we just were."
Marcus Neves-Polonio, 19, was working in the food court when he saw a man pull out a gun and start firing. At least two people were on the ground, he said. "All of a sudden a herd of people were just running toward us, a massive crowd of people screaming, running, freaking out," said Hannah Stewart, 21, a shopper. "We saw this girl, sitting on the ground, and she had blood on her toes." The girl appeared to have been one of the victims and told Stewart she had just been shot.
Erica Solmes, a store manager in the food court, said she heard about 15 shots before a stampede for the exits. Transit service around the mall was shut down for a time.
Gunman fires shots at Toronto shopping mall,1 dead: cops - New York Daily News
TORONTO — A gunman fired shots in a busy food court in one of Canada's busiest malls Saturday killing one man and injuring eight, police said.
Toronto police constable Victor Kwong said two people were in critical condition. He said the person who was killed died at the scene. Some of the injuries came when people were trampled on and pushed. He said the suspect had not been apprehended.
Witnesses said multiple shots were fired in the food court in Toronto's downtown Eaton Centre and that hundreds of panicked shoppers sprinted for the exits. The mall was evacuated.
Swarms of people watched from outside as an injured man with visible bullet wounds was wheeled out on a stretcher.
Toronto Blue Jays baseball player Brett Lawrie tweeted that he sprinted out of the mall after hearing the shots.
"People sprinting up the stairs right from where we just were ... Wow wow wow," Lawrie tweeted.
Marcus Neves-Polonio, 19, was working in the food court when he saw a man pull out a gun and start firing.
At least two people were on the ground, he said.
"All of a sudden a herd of people were just running toward us, a massive crowd of people screaming, running, freaking out," said Hannah Stewart, 21, who was shopping in the mall at the time. "We saw this girl, sitting on the ground, and she had blood on her toes."
That girl appeared to have been one of the victims and told Stewart she had just been shot.
Erica Solmes, who manages the McDonald's in the mall's food court, said she heard about 15 shots ring out before a stampede of people made a dash for the exits.
The Eaton Centre is a busy shopping area popular with tourists.
In 2005, a 15-year-old girl was killed during the Christmas holidays just north of the mall in a shooting that shocked the city during a year of record gun deaths in Toronto, Canada's largest city.
People sprinting up the stairs right from where we just were ... Wow wow wow
— Brett Lawrie (@blawrie13) June 2, 2012
Gunman Fires Shots In Toronto Shopping Centre - lbc.co.uk
A gunman fired shots into a crowd of people in a busy shopping centre in Toronto killing at least one man and injuring seven others, police have said.
A police spokesman said the gunman is still at large despite having searched the Eaton Centre which was immediately evacuated.
The 25-year-old man who was killed died at the scene, and two of the victims - including a 13-year-old boy - are in a critical condition, the spokesman added.
Multiple shots were fired in the centre's food court and hundreds of panicked shoppers ran for the exits as they tried to escape the scene.
Witnesses said some shoppers were wounded after being trampled by the crowd and a pregnant woman went into labour after she was pushed.
Among those fleeing was Toronto Blue Jays baseball player Brett Lawrie who tweeted: "People sprinting up the stairs right from where we just were... Wow wow wow."
Marcus Neves-Polonio, 19, was working in the food court when he saw a man pull out a gun and start firing. He said he saw at least two people on the ground.
Shopper Hannah Stewart, 21, said: "All of a sudden a herd of people were just running toward us, a massive crowd of people screaming, running, freaking out.
"We saw this girl, sitting on the ground, and she had blood on her toes."
Fast food manager Erica Solmes said she heard about 15 shots ring out before a stampede of people ran for the doors.
In 2005, a 15-year-old girl was killed during the Christmas holidays just north of the mall in a shooting that shocked the city during a year of record gun deaths in Toronto, Canada's largest city.
(c) Sky News 2012
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