Two people are in hospital after they were chased and shot at in what appears to be an act of road rage before eventually flipping their car while trying to escape, police say.
Officers were called to the area of Yonge Street and Empress Avenue at 10:45 a.m. for a shooting, but police say that was just one of three scenes included in the North York incident.
Speaking to reporters Monday afternoon in front of the Kia Sportage that had been flipped onto its roof, Duty Insp. Brian Maslowski explained that prior to the rollover, investigators believe that a black Dodge Ram pickup truck had been involved in a rear-end collision with the vehicle near Willowdale and Cummer avenues.
“The Dodge black pickup truck followed the Kia to the intersection of Willowdale Avenue and Bishop Avenue. It was at that time that an occupant in the black pickup actually shot at the Kia motor vehicle,” Maslowski said, noting that the series of events are “unusual” and “heinous.”
The occupants of the Kia, who police said are an adult male and female, then drove southbound on Yonge Street, where they collided with another vehicle, which appears to be a dump truck which is visible from the scene.
A vehicle involved in a collision near Mel Lastman Square following a reported shooting is shown. (Simon Sheehan)
The occupants of the black pickup truck followed, police said, and shot at the Kia a second time. It’s unclear how many shots were fired at either scene.
The victims injuries are considered serious, but non-life-threatening, and are not related to the gunshots, Maslowski said.
Meanwhile, the suspect or suspects within the black pickup truck fled the scene.
“We are gathering evidence, but if the public sees this black pickup truck — it has extensive front-end damage as well, it has a broken window– call 911,” he said, adding that it’s unclear how many people were in the suspect vehicle at the time of the incident.
Police previously told CP24 that the string of incidents appears to have stemmed from an apparent act of road rage. However, Maslowski could not confirm that detail, citing the nascency of the investigation.
“That’s what it may look like, but we’re really early on, and I don’t want to make a guess…we need to have a detailed statements from the victims and all our witnesses, and once we collaborate all that, then we’ll be in a better position to find out.”
While its unclear what may have precipitated the initial rear-end collision at Willowdale and Cummer, Maslowski said he is confident the incident is not related to the anniversary of Oct. 7, which will be marked by Jewish communities across the city Monday night.
“Rest assured that there is no connection that we have established.”
No suspect description has been released by police and road closures in the area remain in effect.
With files from CP24’s Beatrice Vaisman