Toronto police officers mark a blood trail from a car that was involved in a shooting Wednesday afternoon on Bloor Street at Crawford on Oct. 20, 2010.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Police were looking for a gunman after two men were shot in broad daylight on one of Toronto's busiest streets on Wednesday.
The shooting, just before 2 p.m., happened outside a martial arts school at 813 Bloor St. W. at Crawford Street, immediately west of Christie Pits Park. Both victims suffered minor injuries; one was struck in the arm and the other was being treated for a grazing wound to the head.
The gunshots sent at least three nearby schools, West End Alternative, Montrose Junior Public School, and Harbord Collegiate into "hold-and-secure" status. Harbord Collegiate later sent a note to parents shortly after, saying the school had resumed its regular routine by about 2:30 p.m.
A black BMW sedan bearing British Columbia licence plates sat with both its passenger-side doors open behind a cordon of yellow police tape. The window on the rear door was shattered.
"I heard three shots," said Domenic D'Abruzzo, who owns a cheque-cashing business about 50 metres east of the shooting scene. "I came out and saw one guy on the ground and one guy by the car there," he said, pointing to the BMW.
A resident of Crawford Street, just north of the shooting scene, said she had just come outside when she heard "at least five" shots. She saw the two victims, bloodied and walking across Bloor Street towards the martial arts gym.
"It was pretty strange in the afternoon to hear something like that," she said, asking for anonymity out of fear since the shooter hadn't been caught. "The owner (of the gym) came out and said, 'Call police'."
Police in 14 Division said the shooting could be gang-related and are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
"Nobody talks to us," Superintendent Ruth White, who commands the division, told The Globe, adding there have been six similar shootings in the past two weeks.
Supt. White could not say whether the victims of this latest shooting were co-operating, but said "hopefully they'll stand up and say 'It was John Doe' or whoever."
An official at the martial arts school, contacted by phone shortly after the shooting, said he had "absolutely, 100 per cent no comment."
Mr. D'Abruzzo said the two victims were white and appeared to be 20 to 22 years old.
He expressed exasperation with crime in the neighbourhood, saying "this is twice this month and I've seen three (shootings) since summertime." The convenience store next door to him has been robbed three times and no arrests were made despite video recordings of the heists.
"I'm in the money business and I'm a bit scared," he said. "There's never police around."
Supt. White suggested the shooting was targeted.
"Do you think it was random?" she asked rhetorically.
With files from Ann Hui