At least two people were killed and several others wounded Saturday evening in a shooting at the Salsa on St. Clair festival in Midtown Toronto, police said.
Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said officers had initially worried the incident involved an active shooter but later clarified, "There was some concern of an active shooter. That turned out not to be the case."
Barredo said officers responded to find six people with gunshot wounds, two of whom died at the scene; the four wounded patients were taken to area hospitals, all in serious condition.
Police said the scene was secured and that no suspect was in custody; no arrests have been made and the exact number of suspects involved remained unknown, Barredo said.
Investigators recovered two firearms and were focused on three separate crime scenes, and Barredo said, "There seemed to be an exchange of gunfire between individuals targeting each other."
Police said they received a call reporting an active shooter near St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue at 8:12 p.m., and a large police presence remained in the area as officers continued their investigation.
About 13,000 people were believed to have attended the two-day festival, which celebrates Latino culture with music, dance, food and art and was set to run through Sunday on St. Clair Avenue.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement to X, "I am devastated by the senseless violence at the Salsa on St. Clair Festival that has claimed two lives and injured others." He added, "The person responsible must be caught, brought to justice and spend the rest of their life behind bars." Mayor Olivia Chow said, "I’m deeply disturbed and angry about this reckless, irresponsible act of violence right in the middle of a festival."
One witness, Pamela Garcia, told a local news outlet she heard three shots and saw people in the crowd run and scream. Another witness, Jacy Lin, said, "I was walking from here and there was like a yellow tape, and I saw a bunch of paramedics coming down with a man and they were just doing CPR," and, "And he had like an oxygen tank and everything, and he didn’t look well."
Barredo said investigators would "piece together some of those bits of information, and when we're able to share it with the public, we certainly will," and that the probe would be "complex."