The pre-dawn stillness of the Danforth GO station was shattered early Saturday morning, culminating in a fatal police shooting.
Police responded to urgent reports of an armed individual near Danforth Avenue and Main Street just before 1:40 a.m. The initial call described a person openly carrying a gun, immediately escalating the situation to a critical level.
Officers quickly located a man matching the description, allegedly armed with a firearm. A confrontation ensued, and the man was struck by gunfire, triggering a cascade of emergency response.
Rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, the man was later pronounced dead. The scene was immediately secured as the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) invoked its mandate, taking control of the investigation.
SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon confirmed the victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds. She detailed how the initial report came from a concerned citizen who observed the armed individual at the station.
According to Hudon, officers swiftly identified a “person of interest” in a stairwell leading to the train platform. An interaction followed, and an officer discharged their firearm multiple times.
Investigators recovered two firearms from the scene: the officer’s service weapon and another believed to have been in the possession of the deceased. The focus now shifts to a meticulous examination of the events leading up to the shooting.
The SIU has designated one subject official – the officer involved – and four witness officers. Crucially, both CCTV footage from the station and body-worn camera footage from Toronto Police officers are being reviewed to reconstruct the incident.
The identity of the man who died has not yet been released. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to piece together the sequence of events that unfolded in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The Toronto Police Association released a statement acknowledging the incident and offering support to its members. They emphasized the difficult and unpredictable nature of police work, and the split-second decisions officers are often forced to make.
Trains were temporarily diverted from the Danforth GO station as the investigation proceeded, disrupting service for commuters. The station remained closed as investigators meticulously processed the scene for evidence.
