Two killed in mass shooting at Canada’s largest Latin street festival in Toronto, police say
Tragedy Strikes Toronto’s Premier Latin Celebration
Two killed in mass shooting at Canada – Chaos erupted on Saturday at the Salsa on St. Clair festival, Canada’s most significant Latin cultural gathering, when gunfire tore through crowds of approximately 13,000 attendees. According to Toronto Police Service Deputy Chief Frank Barredo, at least two individuals engaged in a shooting exchange that left two people dead and six total victims wounded. The incident occurred during what organizers have celebrated annually for 22 years in the city’s midtown district.
Victims and Immediate Aftermath
Both deceased victims were identified as men, while four other wounded individuals were transported to local hospitals suffering from serious injuries. Barredo explained during a late Saturday news conference that investigators have established three separate crime scenes and recovered two firearms from the area. Authorities confirmed there is no continued threat to the public following the incident.
“This seemed to be an exchange of gunfire between two individuals targeting each other,” Barredo stated, noting that the confrontation “indiscriminately put vast numbers of people in danger.” Festival attendees fled along sidewalks cordoned off with yellow police tape as numerous black police SUVs, patrol vehicles, armored units, and ambulances converged on the location, according to CTV footage captured at the scene.
Eyewitness Accounts
Joanna Lavoie, a journalist covering the event for Canadian outlet CP24, described how the atmosphere shifted dramatically once shots were fired. She reported witnessing a woman who appeared to have been hit and was experiencing severe injuries.
“Everyone was just in disbelief and fear. It was a terrifying situation. We’re here to have fun … we didn’t expect anything like this to happen, and it was the last thing we expected,” Lavoie told CP24, which operates as a CNN affiliate.
Valerie Rodriguez, another attendee, shared her experience with the Associated Press. She was seated outside a nearby restaurant when screams broke out and people began running. “A bunch of people … told us to lay down onto the floor,” Rodriguez recounted.
Official Response and Investigation
Police secured the area approximately one hour after the shooting commenced but continued requesting that residents avoid the neighborhood. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow issued a strong condemnation of the violence, calling it “a reckless, despicable act of violence at a crowded festival.” She pledged that authorities would exhaust all efforts to locate those responsible.
“I will ensure Toronto Police have every resource they need to find those responsible, and they will keep working around the clock to get guns off our streets,” the mayor declared in a statement posted on X.
Both Chow and law enforcement are encouraging anyone who attended the festival and captured video or possesses relevant information to come forward. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also expressed his reaction in a public statement, saying he is “horrified” by the fatal incident at the bustling Toronto celebration.
“My prayers are with the families grieving their loved ones … and everyone who has been affected by this horrific event,” Carney wrote.
Broader Context of Gun Violence in Canada
While Canada experiences fewer deadly gun incidents compared to the United States, such tragedies continue to impact communities across the nation. Less than three weeks prior to the Toronto shooting, Montreal was shaken by another mass shooting. In that incident, a gunman opened fire in the city, followed by a subsequent shootout with police that resulted in two deaths. This marked the first time a Montreal law enforcement officer had been killed in the line of duty within twenty years.
The Toronto shooting occurred in a country known for comparatively stringent gun legislation and relatively rare mass shootings. Following Canada’s deadliest shooting in 2020, which claimed 22 lives in Nova Scotia, the federal government implemented substantial reforms including bans on assault-style weapons.
This report has been updated with additional information. CNN’s Izzy Lippolis contributed to this coverage.
