A shooting in the Eaton Centre food court has left one dead and seven others injured.
Two more are in critical condition in hospital, according to Toronto Police Constable Victor Kwong. Some were injured due to trampling as people fled the area.
The area around the mall, Toronto’s largest shopping centre in the downtown core, was quickly blocked off Saturday evening and the Eaton Centre itself was evacuated and closed down.
Ujjawal Patel, 28, said he was inside the Eaton Centre when he heard 12 to 15 shots ring out. He quickly fled.
"I was so scared," said Mr. Patel. "If if can happen in the Eaton Centre it can happen anywhere."
Marcus Neves-Polonio, a 19-year-old busser at the food court, says he was walking when a guy took out a gun and started firing near the Big Smoke Burger.
Mr. Neves-Polonio says he witnessed someone being shot right in the chest.
He says he saw two people on the ground.
He ducked under a table. "I just hoped he wouldn't go in my direction," he said. "I easily could have been shot, too."
The scene became "mayhem" as people scattered, running for the doors, said Mr. Neves-Polonio.
One of the first to report the shooting was Toronto Blue Jays player Brett Lawrie,
via Twitter
.
It’s not the first time the area has seen gunfire.
In 2005, a 15-year-old was killed and six others were wounded on Boxing Day, 2005, when shots rang out just north of the shopping centre.
With reports from Chris Hannay and The Canadian Press 
