Man, 21, charged after shots fired inside Yorkdale Mall
Posted August 30, 2021 12:10 pm.
Last Updated August 30, 2021 2:11 pm.
A 21-year-old man is facing numerous charges after gunfire erupted inside a busy Yorkdale Mall on Sunday afternoon.
In a release Monday, Toronto police said for “investigative reasons” they aren’t naming the suspect.
He’s facing eight charges including unauthorized possession of a firearm, discharge firearm with intent to wound/endanger life, and three counts of assault.
Police were called to the popular north Toronto mall around 3:30 p.m. after receiving several calls for shots being fired.
Police said with the help of mall security, they identified a suspect and following a brief foot pursuit he was arrested on the Highway 401 on-ramp.
A loaded firearm, later revealed to be a loaded Glock-19, was recovered.
On Sunday, police said they were looking for a second suspect in connection with the shooting, but no suspect description has been provided. Police say the investigation is ongoing.
No injuries were reported as a result of the shooting but paramedics said some people suffered minor injuries as they scrambled to flee the gunfire.
“All of a sudden I heard ‘bang, bang, bang, bang, bang’ like at least five times,” Maria, who was inside the mall at the time of the shooting, told CityNews. “And I said to myself, ‘Oh my god that’s a gun!’”
“Imagine everyone is walking, non-nonchalant shopping and all of sudden you hear three gunshots go off,” she added. “Everyone … running, falling, tripping. There was people getting trampled.”
The mall reopened to the public on Monday.
Yorkdale’s director, William Correia, said the shopping centre is helping investigators.
“Yorkdale has excellent surveillance technology, and we are working closely with Toronto Police Services to support the investigation,” Correia said in a statement.
With files from The Canadian Press
