Authorities at Pearson continue to work toward 'highest level of security' amid Fort Lauderdale shooting

As details emerge of a mass shooting at Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the Toronto airport authority says it is doing its utmost to ensure the safety of passengers and employees at the country's busiest airport.

"We are always working closely with our airport partners to ensure the highest level of safety and security at our airport," Siobhan Desroches, senior communications adviser for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said in a statement. 

Five people were killed and eight others were injured after a gunman opened fire at the airport in south Florida on Friday before a suspect was apprehended, The Associated Press reports.

The shooting took place in the baggage claim area in the airport's Terminal 2. It's unknown if the shooter had gone through airport security.

Desroches said that in Toronto only individuals that have been screened by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) have access to secure areas of the airport.

"Individuals that have not been screened by CATSA are only [allowed] on the public side of the airport," she said.

Multiple flights between Pearson and Fort Lauderdale have been delayed or cancelled as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has implemented a ground stop for all flights from the Florida airport.