A mass shooting erupted amid Canada’s largest Latin street festival in Toronto on Saturday, leaving two people dead and four others seriously injured, according to police. The incident occurred at the Salsa on St. Clair festival, where an estimated 13,000 people were gathered when at least two shooters exchanged gunfire.
Toronto Police Service Deputy Chief Frank Barredo confirmed at a late Saturday news conference that a total of six individuals were shot. Both of the deceased victims were men, while the four injured victims were transported to hospitals with serious injuries. Investigators have since cordoned off three distinct crime scenes and recovered two firearms. Barredo assured the public that there is no ongoing threat, though several suspects are believed to remain at large.
Deputy Chief Barredo described the event as “an exchange of gunfire between two individuals targeting each other,” noting that the shooting “indiscriminately put vast numbers of people in danger.” Eyewitnesses recounted scenes of panic. Joanna Lavoie, a journalist with Canadian media outlet CP24 who was attending the festival, reported that “the mood instantly changed” after gunshots rang out. She told CP24, a CNN affiliate, that she saw a woman who appeared to have been shot and was suffering significant injuries. “Everyone was just in disbelief and fear. It was a terrifying situation. We’re here to have fun … we didn’t expect anything like this to happen, and it was the last thing we expected,” Lavoie stated. Valerie Rodriguez, another witness, told the Associated Press she heard screams and saw people fleeing while sitting outside a restaurant, adding that “A bunch of people … told us to lay down onto the floor.”
Footage from CTV showed festivalgoers running down sidewalks, restricted by yellow tape, as numerous police SUVs, patrol cars, heavy-duty armored vehicles, and ambulances converged on the scene. Police secured the area approximately an hour after the shooting commenced, but continued to advise the public to avoid the midtown location, which annually hosts the multiday festival celebrating Latin culture for the past 22 years.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow condemned the violence as “a reckless, despicable act of violence at a crowded festival.” She pledged that authorities would work tirelessly to identify those responsible, stating on X, “I will ensure Toronto Police have every resource they need to find those responsible, and they will keep working around the clock to get guns off our streets.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also expressed his horror in a statement, saying, “My prayers are with the families grieving their loved ones … and everyone who has been affected by this horrific event.” Both Mayor Chow and police are urging any festival attendees with footage or information pertinent to the investigation to contact law enforcement.
While deadly gun violence is less common in Canada compared to the United States, it continues to impact communities. This incident follows another mass shooting less than three weeks prior in Montreal, where a gunman opened fire, resulting in a shootout with police that killed two people in broad daylight, including the first Montreal officer killed in the line of duty in two decades. Canada has significantly stronger gun laws than the US, and mass shootings are infrequent. Following its most deadly shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020, which claimed 22 lives, the Canadian government implemented major reforms and bans on assault-style weapons.
CNN’s Izzy Lippolis contributed to this report.
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