Three dead in two separate Toronto shootings

(Updated)

Three young men are dead after two separate shootings in Toronto today. The first happening in Etobicoke just after lunch time. A teenager was among two people killed there.

Then a few hours later, a man was shot dead in a townhouse complex on Shuter east of Parliament.

Shocked residents say up to eight shots rang out at a complex near Regent Park at around 2:45 Monday.

“I heard a succession of shots and when I came out a black man was laying there and his brains were next to him-like somebody put 7 bullets in his face.”

“I knew immediately what it was. We’ve heard gunshots in this neighbourhood before but never that close.”

Witnesses say the man looked to be in his early twenties. A nurse passing by tried to revive the victim but he was pronounced dead in hospital. His name has not been released.

The shooting happened right across the street from Regent Park Public School. A number of schools in the area were locked down. The suspects are still at large and are considered armed and dangerous.

A separate shooting just after lunchtime in Etobicoke left two students dead — one of them was 15-years old. The Toronto District School Board says he was a student at James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School. The age of the other student isn’t known.

The shooting took place in a laneway near an apartment building across from Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School.

There are reports a group of teens from the two schools were fighting or had planned to fight. Police have not confirmed that.

One young person was taken into custody and police say is a person of interest in this case. They are looking for more suspects.

There may be video of one of the shootings. A witness downtown said one of the neighbours in the apartment complex on Shuter Street had video surveillance installed after having a bike stolen earlier this year. That could really help police solve this case. But police have not commented on the possibility of a video.