2 people dead, multiple injured after shooting at Toronto street festival

2 people dead, multiple injured after shooting at Toronto street festival

CBC's Lorenda Reddekopp, who has attended Salsa on St. Clair for years, notes the event is known as a safe and family-friendly event.

The festival is all about Latin culture, with musicians and dancers performing throughout the day. It's one of the biggest events on the Toronto summer event calendar, running in the city for 22 years.

Tonight, the community has been gripped by fear.

Reddekopp described people running away from the sound of the shooting, seeking shelter in restaurants and convenience stores.

Photos from moments before shooting show a packed crowd, with Torontonians standing shoulder-to-shoulder in many places.

It's not the first packed festival this year.

In early June, Toronto police had to be called in to disperse huge crowds during Saturday night festivities at Do West Fest — a similar event on Dundas Street West.

At the time, police said the crowds were so big emergency responders couldn't get through the crowds.

Mike Colle, one of Toronto's deputy mayors, described the shooting as "gangster violence" while speaking to reporters.

"These thugs must be caught," he said.

Barredo said an estimated 13,000 people were at the festival at the time and they expect investigators to be going through a lot of video evidence in the coming days.

There are three crime scenes being held by police at this time.

Barredo said investigators believe the shooters may have been moving through the crowd.

Barredo told reporters that two firearms were recovered after the shooting, and that investigators have determined that there are three crime scenes.

"Investigators are piecing it all together. This is a very chaotic scene," he said.

St. Clair is a midrise block of Toronto lined with both businesses and residences.

Police sought to ease the nerves of anyone living in the area.

The shooting appears to have been an exchange of gunfire between at least two people, police told reporters.

While they put out an active shooter notice earlier as a precaution, police say they no longer believe there's a threat to the area.

In a social media post, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she is "disgusted and angered" by the shooting.

"This was a reckless, despicable act of violence at a crowded festival," she said.

"My thoughts are with the families, friends and communities of those who were injured or tragically passed away."

Chow thanked the first responders, saying she will make sure police have the resources they need to find those responsible.

Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said in a news conference that, while the cause of the shooting is not yet clear, he said that there was an exchange of gunfire.

"This seemed to be an exchange of gunfire between two individuals targeting each other," Barredo said.

Patsy Gutierrez, a vendor at the festival, told The Canadian Press she was serving customers when she saw "a huge wave" of people running.

"Everybody started getting frantic and then we stopped serving," she said. "I don't think it should be something that's happening in these type of events."

Valerie Rodriguez said she was sitting next to a restaurant when she saw people screaming and running.

"A bunch of people ... told us to lay down onto the floor," she said. "We got scared because we didn't know exactly what was happening."

Toronto police said no arrest has been made at this time.

The service also didn't provide an estimate on how many people were in the area at the time.

Police are set to speak with reporters in about 15 minutes.