Police say one woman is dead after a daytime shooting near a daycare in downtown Toronto.

Duty Insp. Michelle Olszevski says officers responded to a call in the city’s east-end Leslieville neighbourhood after noon and found a woman in her 40s who had been shot.

She says the victim was transported to a nearby trauma centre, where she was later pronounced dead.

Olszevski says the shooting investigation is ongoing, but police have learned that three people were involved in a “physical and verbal altercation” leading up to the woman being shot.

She says police don’t believe there is a relationship between the woman and the three individuals, but that hasn’t yet been confirmed.

Earlier in the day, police tweeted that the nearby Morse Street Child Care Centre is in a hold and secure for the children’s safety.

Police offered limited descriptions of the suspects but say multiple witnesses came forward and there is a lot of video surveillance available in the area.

The force says it is looking for two suspects, both described as Black men, one wearing a dark T-shirt with floral print and another wearing a white shirt with blood on it.

The suspects were last seen on Queen Street East heading northbound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2023.