Shooters 'opened fire indiscriminately' at Toronto pub, police say
A shooting at a pub in Toronto, Canada, Friday night left 12 people injured, including six with gunshot wounds, police said.
Three men, who are still at-large, entered the pub in the Scarborough district just before 10:40 p.m. and opened fire on patrons, who were seated in booths or standing at the bar, Superintendent Paul MacIntyre of Organized Crime Enforcement told reporters early Saturday morning.
One of the men had an assault-style rifle and the two others used handguns, MacIntyre said.
"They walked into the bar, they produced their guns and they opened fire indiscriminately on the people sitting inside the restaurant, inside the bar," MacIntyre said.
None of the victims' conditions were life-threatening. Six were wounded with gunshots and the other injuries were from flying glass and other causes, he said. They range in age from 20s to mid-50s, Toronto police said in a statement.
"I'm happy to report by the grace of God that there's been no fatalities," MacIntyre said.
The pub was identified as Piper Arms Pub by media outlets including the Associated Press and the Toronto Star. According to its Facebook page, Piper Arms was celebrating its opening night Friday.
The motive for the attack is not yet clear, MacIntyre said, and investigators are working to determine if someone inside the bar was targeted, whether the suspects had a vendetta against the bar itself or whether it could have been random. The suspects wore face coverings during the shooting, he said.
"I am deeply troubled to hear reports of a shooting at a pub in Scarborough," Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said in a post to social media. "My thoughts are with the victims and their families."
'Brazen' attack caught on video, police say
Investigators have seen video footage of the shooting, MacIntyre said. Pubgoers were seated at booths with friends, with food and drinks on the tables, or standing at the bar area before the shooting began, he said. When the gunmen opened fire, people fell to the floor or ducked for cover. Some ran into the pub's basement for safety until police arrived.
"This was a brazen and reckless act of violence that's really shaken our community and the city itself," MacIntyre said.
The scene in the aftermath is "eerie," he said. Food and drink remain on abandoned tables. Glass and blood are scattered throughout the building. People's handbags and shoes were left behind.
"It's a pub with nobody inside. It's eerie," McIntyre said.