The incident occurred in the Glendower Plaza parking lot in the L’Amoreaux neighborhood, near Birchmount Road and Glendower Circuit, south of Finch Avenue East.
Footage from the scene shows the shooting appears to have happened outside a convenience store.
Speaking to media at the scene Saturday evening, Detective Sergeant Aaron Akeson of the Toronto Police Service’s (TPS) Homicide and Missing Persons Unit said several calls had been received for a shooting in this area around 1:50 p.m.
A teenager then showed up at the hospital with gunshot wounds and his life-threatening condition. He died there shortly after, TPS said in a follow-up message on X.
The identity of the teenager, who is Toronto’s 37th murder victim of the year, has not yet been released by police.
“We believe that an altercation took place in this square and that there are two shooters involved,” Mr. Akeson said, adding that the two suspects are described as black men, one of whom was seen for the last time wearing a red hat, red shirt and beige shorts, while the other wore a black hooded sweatshirt.
He added that one of the suspects fled in a white SUV, while the other left on foot.
So far, investigators have not indicated the motive for the fatal shooting or the exact circumstances that led to it.
Mr. Akeson said he believed the shooting was targeted, although he could not say for certain that the victim was the intended target.
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STORE EMPLOYEE SAYS HE HEARD GUNSHOT, SAW BLOODY TEEN ON FLOOR
Hara Unni, who started working two days ago at the convenience store in the plaza where the shooting took place, told CTV News he first heard what he thought was a knock at the door from the store, but then realized the noise he heard was actually gunshots after seeing a boy he described as being about 15 or 16 years old walking bleeding and crying for help on the ground outside.
Unni said he heard about four gunshots.
He also said a number of people from the community came to the victim’s aid and took him to hospital.
POLICE ASK FOR PUBLIC’S HELP
At this stage of the investigation, Toronto Police are working to piece together exactly what happened and are asking for the public’s help to do so.
“This is a densely populated area. This was a brazen shooting in broad daylight and an event like this has a serious and significant impact on the community and surrounding areas,” Akeson said.
“One of the most important things we can do is talk to people. People who were in the area. People who saw or heard what happened. Anyone who has surveillance video or dash cam video who may have been passing through the area at that time. It is important that you contact us.
He also urged the suspects to go to the police.
With information from CTV News.
