Shoppers, workers return to Yorkdale mall after shooting
An altercation between two groups included a gun being fired at least twice
Shoppers and employees returned Friday to a popular Toronto mall where a shooting triggered a frantic evacuation a day earlier.
No one was injured in the gunfire at Yorkdale Shopping Centre on Thursday afternoon, but the sprawling facility was shut down as officers combed the area for evidence.
Police said an altercation between two groups of men in the mall led to one man firing a gun at least twice. The shooting caused panicked shoppers and store employees to scramble for cover, with hundreds eventually rushing out of the large building.
Shoppers return to Yorkdale mall after gunshots and chaos yesterday afternoon. One woman tells me it’s “retail therapy” <a href="https://t.co/SUZDb85pOD">pic.twitter.com/SUZDb85pOD</a>
—@LindaWardCBCLime Pinga, a manager at clothing retailer Maje, said operations appeared to have returned to normal by Friday morning.
"We are pretty OK," he said, noting that his supervisor had told workers they could access counselling services through a third-party company if they needed to.
Pinga, who was not at the mall at the time of the shooting, said the team of workers who had been at the store during Thursday's incident were not working Friday morning.
Several shoppers who had been at the mall at the time of the shooting took to social media to express their gratitude to store workers who had helped them seek shelter.
A huge shoutout and thanks to the staff of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ladur%C3%A9e?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ladurée</a> at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yorkdalemall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Yorkdalemall</a> who were nice & calm during a chaotic situation. Thanks for making us feel calm & safe. I am glad no one was injured & hope they catch those brainless bastards<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YorkdaleShooting?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YorkdaleShooting</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sallykhater_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sallykhater_</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/arazooferozan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@arazooferozan</a>
—@nilabferozanThanks to the employees at <a href="https://twitter.com/Bose?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bose</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/yorkdalemall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#yorkdalemall</a> for allowing us to hide in their store, keeping calm, sharing information and even offering us water during the shooting scare today.
—@JennaMKeaneToronto police said Friday evening they are looking for a 20-year-old man in connection with the shooting. Zion Sankar-Beharry of Toronto is wanted for discharge firearm with intent, related to the incident.
Investigators are continuing to ask anyone with information on the shooting to contact them.
Thursday's incident was the latest in a string of high-profile shootings in the city this year.
In July two people were killed in a rampage in Toronto's Greektown, a month earlier two young girls were wounded in a shooting at a playground, and days later a woman on her way home from a funeral died in a drive by-shooting police called indicative of a "street gang subculture."
With files from CBC News