2 teens shot near North York school

Two teens were taken to hospital after they were shot outside a North York school Thursday morning.

A 14-year-old girl was shot in the leg and rushed to Hospital for Sick Children where she is recovering following surgery, family members said Thursday night.

A19-year-old man remains in Sunnybrook in critical condition after suffering multiple gunshot wounds.

Sources told CityNews just before 10 a.m., a male suspect was waiting outside Oakdale Park Middle School on Grandravine Drive, near Jane Street and Sheppard Avenue West.

It’s believed the gunman walked over to the victim, who was in front of the community centre, and shot him several times from about a metre away. The gunman then returned to his car, and as he stood in the middle of the street, shot the girl who happened to be there with a friend visiting the school.

“We saw two girls come out from the school and he start (sic) shooting at them too,” a witness said.  “He stood in the middle of the street and started shooting at them.  One of the girls fell down on the floor because she got shot in the ankle.”

Police are canvassing the area and talking to witnesses.

“Our forensic evidence certainly leads us to believe that there were bullets fired at the community centre,” Insp. Randy Carter said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Carter could not confirm the witness’ accounts of the shooting, but said it appeared that someone was waiting for someone else to come out of the community centre.

“The female victim was not a student at the school..she’s in stable condition,” Carter added.

Information on the suspect is scarce. Carter said police were looking for a young, tall, man who left in a vehicle. There may have been a second person driving the car.

A local resident who lives near the school told CityNews she heard at least six shots.

Oakdale was in lockdown for less than two hours and nearby Yorkwoods Public School was in hold-and-secure mode. Both schools are back to normal.

“I’m scared, worried about my son and my daughter,” one mother said during the lockdown.

“We are not safe — we are not safe anywhere around here. You can walk by anytime and get shot by someone. You don’t know for what reason.”

Toronto District School Board spokesperson Shari Schwartz-Maltz also spoke at the Thursday news conference, and said social workers are available to kids and Oakdale students would return to classes in the afternoon.

“Kids were terrific inside…it’s upsetting, but we have a team of social workers here today, and they’ll be here as long as needed,” she said.

But another woman, whose daughter attends Oakdale, said she is proud to live in the Jane and Finch area.

“It’s a good neighbourhood — there’s nothing wrong with the neighbourhood,” she said. “A lot of good people came out of Jane and Finch. A shooting can happen anywhere.”

Police set up a command post in the area and are looking for the getaway vehicle and the suspect.

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