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Toronto police guard the area on Victoria Park Avenue yesterday after a man in his twenties was shot.J.P. MOCZULSKI

A 25-year-old Pickering man is dead after being shot several times during an altercation with Toronto police on Victoria Park Avenue.

Shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday, officers pulled over a southbound TTC bus they'd been following, just north of Eglinton Ave. When Reyal Jensen Jardine-Douglas stepped out, an altercation began, that ended with him getting shot.

Vincent MacLeod and his girlfriend Susan Rampersad, who live down the street on Victoria Park Avenue, were having a cigarette with a friend when the bus pulled to a stop. Police cars boxed it in, and officers emerged.

"The officer confronted him when he got off the bus. He shouted, 'Do you have any weapons? Drop it, drop it!'"

Mr. MacLeod said the man looked as though he was about to run away and then reached inside the pocket of his jacket. The officer shot the man three times, Mr. MacLeod said.

Officers performed CPR on the man as residents of the walk-up apartment blocks that line the street gathered on the sidewalk. A black-handled knife, marked as an exhibit, lay on the road.

"There were about eight little kids playing between the buildings. Everyone was trying to shield them from it," said Lasaundra Grey, who emerged from a nearby apartment building after hearing the gunfire.

Brandon Broum, 13, and his father Reid, arrived at their Victoria Park Avenue apartment shortly afterward.

"It was just surprising to see them in the middle of the street, giving him CPR," Brandon said.

More police quickly flooded the area, taping off the street. Paramedics tried to resuscitate Mr. Jardine-Douglas, before covering him with a blanket and taking him by ambulance to Sunnybrook Hospital. He was pronounced dead just after 4 p.m.

While some residents were angry - shouting at police - others expressed support for the officers. Most, however, shook their heads at the loss of life.

"We all feel sad. All I can say is, I wish there was another way could've happened. It's a human life, it's a human being," said Arem, who declined to give his last name. "I can't believe how this beautiful day started and how it ended."

The Special Investigations Unit, called in whenever someone in police custody is seriously injured or killed, has taken over the investigation. SIU spokeswoman Monica Hudon gave few details on the incident, including what prompted police to pull over the bus in the first place.

Police declined to comment on the incident, as it is under the SIU's jurisdiction.



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