Police searching for suspects after Toronto shooting left one dead, three in hospital

One person is dead and three others were in hospital with gunshot wounds Tuesday as Toronto police searched for suspects.

Police said officers responded to a report of a shooting in an apartment building at 245 Dawn Ave. near Dunn Ave. and Queen Street West shortly after 5:30 p.m. 

Officers found one victim in the lobby who was transported to hospital in serious-to-life-threatening condition. A second victim was found in a unit on the building's third floor and pronounced dead, police Insp. Craig Young told reporters at the scene.

Young said a third victim fled and found shelter in a TTC bus on Queen Street West and was later taken to hospital. He couldn't confirm her condition but said her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

He said a fourth victim walked into a hospital and received treatment for injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.

"Right now we have a very large police presence in the building, we've got officers going floor-to-floor, stairwell-to-stairwell firstly to locate suspects and also to confirm there are no further victims," Young said.

Young said the shooting is being treated as an active homicide investigation and police are searching for two suspects described as Black men in their 30s wearing dark clothing.

One man matching the description was seen being taken from the building into policy custody. Young confirmed that "somebody is in custody" but would not say whether that person is a suspect in the shooting.

"It is a dynamic situation right now. I can't offer any further details with respect to that," he said.

"It's a large building, it's 90 floors. It's a painstaking task," said Young. "It's a very, very laborious and slow-moving process, necessarily so."

Young said police don't believe there is any threat to public safety and any information the public has to offer, no matter how small, is important.

Residents who were out at the time police arrived were being denied entry into the building. Police cars and tape blocked off large areas surrounding it. A TTC bus was set up to shelter them from the cold and snow.

"We understand the plight the residents are going through but obviously public safety takes precedence at this point in time," Young said.