Police tape marks a crime scene in this file photo.JOHN LEHMANN
Police officers responding to a holdup at a downtown Toronto pharmacy shot and gravely injured a male suspect on Wednesday morning.
Constable Jenifferjit Sidhu said police received a call around 8:30 a.m. reporting that a man with a gun was attempting to rob a Pharma Plus drug store near Sherbourne Street and Bloor Street East.
The man, who is 34, was rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition with gunshot wounds to his torso and leg, said Kim McKinnon, a spokeswoman for Toronto Emergency Medical Services.
"The paramedics have stabilized him as they can en route to hospital but it is a life-threatening condition," she said.
Given the shooting involved police, the province's Special Investigations Unit is investigating the incident. The SIU is a civilian agency that probes serious injuries, deaths and sexual assaults involving police.
The SIU said it has assigned six investigators and two forensic specialists to the case.
Jill Mahoney