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Toronto Police fatally shoot man carrying a gun near a school

The blue, white, red and gold seal of the Toronto Police Service.
Toronto Police

With tensions already high following recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Texas, the Toronto Police special investigations unit is sifting through the details of a shooting near an east-end school. Police fatally shot a man who was walking near a school with a gun.

Police received multiple 911 calls about a man in his late teens or early twenties with a rifle near an elementary school.

Witnesses say the man was confronted by police and told to lower his weapon. One witness said he heard three shots in rapid succession, then saw officers leaning over the man trying to revive him.

Police said two officers discharged their weapons, striking the man at least once.

Police Chief James Ramer was on the scene.

“I certainly understand the trauma and how traumatic this must have been for staff, students and parents, given the recent events that has happened in the United States,” Ramer said.

Ramer wouldn’t provide more details, saying the Special Investigations Unit is now looking into the incident. But he did say police patrols in the area would be stepped up. The SIU confirmed to CTV News Toronto Thursday evening that a BB gun was recovered at the scene.

Hundreds of children from multiple schools were forced into lockdown because of the incident.