A man died following a standoff with police in the Sherbourne and Dundas area of Toronto on Nov. 13, 2013.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
A man was shot dead following a downtown Toronto standoff between police and a suspect who was alleged to be waving a gun.
"Our paramedics have pronounced a patient dead at the scene," said Kim McKinnon, a spokeswoman for Toronto Emergency Medical Services.
She said the man was middle-aged and had died before he could be transported to hospital.
Reporters heard a loud bang and saw paramedics bring out a gurney. Two SWAT armoured cars that had been at the scene then left.
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, which deals with fatalities and serious injuries involving police, is now probing the incident, dispatching six investigators and three forensic investigators.
"At approximately 1:45 p.m., a firearm was discharged and the man was fatally struck," the SIU said in a statement.
The incident happened in the area around Sherbourne Street, between Wellesley East and Carlton, just blocks away from the old Maple Leaf Gardens.
Toronto police said officers were called at about 12:30 p.m. for a man wanted for assault.
There was a foot pursuit and the suspect was believed to have entered a townhouse and was pointing a gun at officers.
Toronto police set up a perimeter in the 400 block of Sherbourne Street. Houses in the area were evacuated.
Several squad cars, an ambulance, the canine unit, the mental-health crisis team and tactical officers from the Emergency Task Force were deployed.
The Toronto Catholic District School Board said Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School was put in lockdown as a precautionary measure.
"Doors are locked and everyone is safe inside," the school board tweeted.
Tu Thanh Ha