BREAKING NEWS:

One dead in downtown Toronto afternoon shooting

A male victim is dead as a result of a shooting in downtown Toronto Monday afternoon.

Shots rang out at Adelaide and George streets at around 2:45 p.m., according to Toronto Paramedic Services. A single victim was pronounced deceased a short time later, paramedics said.

Toronto police said the victim is a male, but his age and identity have not yet been publicly released.

PHOTOS

 Homicide

Toronto Police Detective Sgt. Steve Ryan stops at a victim's body after a shooting in downtown Toronto on Monday, January 30, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

 Shooting

Police investigate a shooting near George and Adelaide streets downtown Monday January 30, 2017.

 Shooting

Police investigate a shooting near George and Adelaide streets downtown Monday January 30, 2017.

Two handguns and as many as a dozen shell casings were found strewn at the scene of the murder, Toronto police Sgt. Craig Somers told reporters.

“We don’t know who the guns belong to at this point in time or if there were multiple shooters,” Somers said.

Witnesses at the scene told CP24 that they saw a man get out of a vehicle on the passenger side, fire several shots and then get back into the car before it fled.

Police said there is currently little suspect information available. However they said a nearby vehicle was struck by a blue vehicle that fled the scene. None of the occupants were injured.

Somers said that police are currently scouring the neighbourhood for surveillance camera footage and are speaking with witnesses to try and confirm details about suspects.

“We’ve taken four witnesses in for statements at this time and it is a busy area – I’m sure more will come to light,” Somers said.

He added that with many people out and about in the area, it was fortunate that more people were not injured by the gunfire. 

“We’re very, very lucky with the number of rounds we’ve seen on the roadway that no other innocent people were injured,” Somers said.

Police have closed off local roads as they investigate and are asking the public to stay clear of the area.

A hold and secure was briefly in effect nearby at the St. James campus of George Brown College as a result of the shooting, the school said. Students were being advised to stay on campus or to avoid the area if they were not already on campus.

Police said there is no information at this point linking the shooting to the school.