Hunt for suspect in shopping centre rampage

A man was killed and seven people were injured after a gunman fired shots in one of Canada’s busiest shopping centres on Saturday, police said.

Two of the injured — including a 13-year-old boy — are in a critical condition after the shooting at the Eaton Centre in Toronto.

The suspect has still not been caught.

Police constable Victor Kwong said a 25-year-old man died at the scene. In all, six people were shot, including the dead man, while two others were trampled and pushed during the resulting panic.

One of these casualties was a pregnant woman who went into labour after she was pushed, Mr Kwong said.

Witnesses said multiple shots were fired in the centre’s food court and hundreds of panicked shoppers sprinted for the exits.

The shopping centre, which is popular with tourists, was evacuated, and scores of people watched from outside as an injured man with visible bullet wounds was wheeled out on a stretcher.

Toronto Blue Jays baseball player Brett Lawrie tweeted he sprinted out of the centre after hearing the shots.

“People sprinting up the stairs right from where we just were... Wow wow wow,” Lawrie tweeted.

Marcus Neves-Polonio, 19, was working in the food court when he saw a man pull out a gun and start firing. At least two people were on the ground, he said.

“All of a sudden a herd of people were just running toward us, a massive crowd of people screaming, running, freaking out,” said shopper Hannah Stewart, 21. “We saw this girl, sitting on the ground, and she had blood on her toes.”

The girl told Ms Stewart she had just been shot.

Erica Solmes, who works in the food court, said she heard about 15 shots ring out before a stampede of people made a dash for the exits. Transport services around the centre were also shut down for a time.

In 2005, a 15-year-old girl was killed during the Christmas holidays just north of the centre in a shooting that shocked the city during a year of record gun deaths in Toronto.

Mr Kwong said police are reviewing security tapes and said a search of the centre had also taken place.