TORONTO — Three adults died in the lobby of an office space in north Toronto on Monday after police responded to reports of gunshots in an area near a daycare and a school.
Investigators said they were called to the area of Don Mills and Mallard roads shortly before 3:30 p.m. and found three people with unknown injuries. They publicly confirmed the deaths around 5 p.m.
An independent all-boys Catholic elementary school was placed in lockdown due to the investigation and a nearby daycare was cleared by late afternoon.
Police spokesperson Const. Cindy Chung said the shooting did not take place in the office of a school, but in the lobby of one of the business offices in the area.
Relieved parents hugged their children tight after they were reunited just outside the police tape at St. George Mini School daycare. The tape separated a stretch of the tree-lined street, and multiple police cars were parked in the area.
One parent said staff had reached out and told them to come pick up their kids early. Earlier in the afternoon, a supervisor told the crowd of parents that everyone inside was safe.
Sarah Ashfield, one of the daycare workers, said she didn't have a lot of information on the situation at first but told everyone to go into lockdown after a supervisor noted the building was surrounded by police.
"I didn't panic, just waited for the information as we received it," she said.
Once she alerted parents, Ashfield said she was bombarded with messages but couldn't tell parents anything besides that the children were safe.
She said she tried to reassure parents again as children were being brought out of the daycare.
"They're perfectly fine, they have no clue what's happening," she said of the kids, adding staff only told them as they were walking out that there would be police outside.
The daycare will be open Tuesday as long as investigators give them the green light, she said.
Police said Toronto Transit Commission buses were brought in to shelter children from the daycare and school as they waited for caregivers to pick them up.
By about 6:30 p.m., police said all children from the daycare and the school in the area had been reunited with their parents.
A large police presence remained in the area, and the force said to expect delays and closures.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2024.
Rianna Lim and Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press