Police said three men wearing masks and pistols and an assault rifle entered a bar at a Toronto bar on Friday night and “fired in vain” and injured 12 people.
Police Chief Paul MacIntyre of Organized Crime Enforcement said six people were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
However, he added: “By the grace of God” there is no death. Police said the suspects were still very large.
Principal McIntyre said it was a typical night at a nearby bar. People stand in bars or sit at stalls and interact with friends on food and drinks, as the bars, Piper weapons, celebrate the opening night on the Progress Avenue in the Scarborough area.
Then around 10:40 p.m., three men rushed into the bar, “watching the crowd and opening fire,” said Principal McIntyre, who reviewed the surveillance video of the attack.
He said customers began to “hide, or fall on the floor because they were hit.” Some customers tried to escape the shooting and fled to the basement to hide.
Police said the suspect then drove into a car and drove away.
“When officers arrived at the scene, some were lying on the floor,” Sheriff McIntyre said. “There were others sitting in stalls or chairs where they were shot.”
He said the shooting left behind a “creepy” crime scene, dining tables, scattered shoes and handbags, broken glass walls and “blood all over the floor.”
The weapon called the Piper on Saturday was not answered immediately.
Principal McIntyre said police “do not know” where the suspect is and their motives are still unclear.
When asked if they pose a danger to the public, he said “It’s not hard to say no,” he added: “What we have now is that we have three guys walking into a bar and opening fires. Yes, I’m worried.”
“It's a rough and reckless act of violence that really shakes our communities and the city itself,” he said.
In a social media post earlier Saturday, Mayor Olivia Chow called it an “early and ongoing investigation” and added that she was “deeply troubled” by the shooting.
“My idea is with the victim and their family,” she said.
