Toronto police are on a manhunt, seeking a suspect who shot and killed a 25-year-old man and wounded six others, including a 13-year-old boy, at the Toronto Eaton Centre Saturday evening.
The shooting happened at around 6:20 p.m. Saturday inside the food court. The food court was packed with shoppers at the time.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said police do have a description of the suspect and will release it to the media once it is confirmed through video evidence and witness interviews. A news conference has been called for 2 p.m.
The 13-year-old boy was fighting for his life in hospital overnight but police say his condition has improved. A man in his 20s and a women also suffered critical injuries from gunshot wounds.
Three other victims -- two women and a man -- suffered non-life threatening injuries and were released from hospital.
A 30-year-old pregnant woman was injured as shoppers rushed out of the mall in an effort to get away from the shooting suspect. Police say she fell and went into labour. As of Sunday morning, she had not given birth.
The deceased man's body remained inside the mall overnight as police continued to inspect the scene for evidence. Officials with the coroner's office were seen entering the mall at around 5 a.m. to prepare for the body's removal. They removed the body at around 7:15 a.m.
For a photos of the aftermath of the shooting, click here.
"The injuries to the man who was killed suggest that he was the targeted victim of this shooting, but there are a number of other people who were clearly innocent bystanders going about their daily lives," Blair told reporters outside the Eaton Centre late Saturday night. "This is a very, very serious crime and the level of violence and wanton disregard for the lives and safety of fellow citizens is shocking to us and should be shocking to the people of Toronto."
He said officers will be "relentless" in their pursuit of the "individual or individuals" responsible for the violence. Investigators have begun to scour dozens of surveillance tapes taken from security cameras at the mall.
"Our first responsibility is to protect the people of Toronto and keep them safe and when acts of violence like this take place in a public space, I think it demands the most immediate and complete response that we are capable of bringing and I am absolutely committed to ensuring that we do that," he said. "We will do everything we can to pursue the people who are responsible for bringing this violence to the City of Toronto."
Blair said all of the bystanders who were shot were in the general vicinity of the targeted victim.
He said most of them, including the 13-year-old boy, were innocent bystanders.
"He was at the mall with his family and he was definitely an innocent bystander," he said. "A totally innocent bystander."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18312636http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/06/03/toronto-eaton-centre-shooting-investigation.htmlhttp://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120602/120602_Eaton_Centre_Shooting/20120603/?hub=CP24Home
its funny how this shit starts happening weeks after the government got rid of our gun registry... now we are becoming no beter then the US when it comes to gun crime and I can bet its only going to get worse.
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