Three children were among a group of people shot at a birthday party for a one-year-old child in Toronto’s Rexdale neighbourhood Saturday evening, police said.
Police said four victims, with varying injuries, were being taken to hospital via emergency runs.
Duty Insp. Kelly Skinner of the Toronto police said emergency crews were called to an address on Tandridge Crescent just before 8 p.m. ET for reports of a shooting in the area.
“It was a birthday party, a children’s birthday party,” Skinner said.
She said three of the victims were children, including:
- A one-year-old male.
- A five-year-old female.
- An 11-year-old male.
Earlier, paramedics said the individual children had life-threatening, serious and minor injuries, but it wasn’t immediately clear which injuries were suffered by which child.
A 23-year-old man was also shot, Skinner said.
‘This is a tragedy,’ police say
Skinner said the police are looking for “multiple suspects” and they are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.
“This is a tragedy. There are three children who were shot here tonight,” she said. “We absolutely need your help, so please call 23 Division at 416-808-2300 if you have any information that you can provide to help us catch these suspects.”
Earlier Evert Steenge, deputy commander with Toronto Paramedic Services, told CBC Toronto that five people were shot.
He later clarified that paramedics assessed five people at the scene but only four were transported to hospital.
Toronto police Supt. Ron Taverner also spoke at the scene.
“Obviously this is very early on in the investigation but at this particular time it doesn’t look like any of the people who were shot were particularly targeted,” Taverner said.
“It seems like they were just there and ended up being shot by the shooters.”
Taverner said the suspects were on foot at the scene of the shooting, but said police believe there was a vehicle used in their escape.