Three shootings in Toronto's fashion district leave one dead

Toronto police say a 30-year-old man was killed in a shooting on a downtown sidewalk Thursday morning while cleaning iron bars.

A 36-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man were also taken to hospital with serious injuries but survived, police said Thursday morning.

Officers responded to Queen Street West and Portland Street around 2:36 a.m. for a call of a shooting outside a business on the south side of the street between Portland and Nearby Road.

“Just after 2:30 a.m. we received several calls for service to this address in reference to a shooting,” said Detective Sgt. Trevor Grieve told reporters at the scene. “Officers from Unit 14 arrived at the scene, and at that time we identified three victims.”

Two adults were then taken to hospital in critical condition, while a third was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to Toronto Paramedic Services. Police later confirmed that one of the victims died of his injuries in hospital.

In a press release Thursday evening, they identified the victim as Ibrahim Abdikarim of Toronto. He is the city's 20th homicide victim of the year.

Grieve said the shooting caused people to try to hide in nearby restaurants and bars.

He said it was too early to say for sure if the shooting was targeted, but there were many people on the street at the time and police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

“We are appealing for the public's assistance in speaking to any witnesses who may have been here last night,” Grieve said. “There was a big crowd here at some of the local establishments.”

Yellow police tape cordoned off many businesses on Queen Street Thursday morning and officers could be seen searching for evidence in the rain. The area was closed to traffic for several hours but has since reopened.

Little information is available on the suspects, but police say they fled in a dark two-door sedan.

Grieve said that while shootings can happen on city streets at any time, he doesn't believe the neighborhood is in danger anymore.

“When it comes to the public safety factor, any time you have someone with a firearm and they're openly firing a firearm in the middle of a busy road in the city of Toronto, there's obviously a concern about firearm safety and violence. city,” he said. “But for the residents here, I don't think there's a safety issue for them as far as the neighborhood itself.”

It is not yet known if there is any relationship between the victims.

Police are urging anyone with information about the shooting to contact investigators or Crime Stoppers.