SIU investigating North York shooting

Witness says officers shot man stabbing another man, both were rushed to hospital

Chris Precious was jolted awake by the sounds of blaring car horns and people screaming. When the 48year-old dashed to his balcony, a scene unfolded before him on the street below — one man attacking another, who was bleeding badly.

“People tried to get his attention but they couldn’t . . . he wasn’t listening,” Precious said.

It would get worse. Moments later, Toronto police arrived and asked the man to stop, to no avail, Precious said.

“Then the police officers shot him and that was the end of the commotion,” Precious said, adding that he thought the man who was shot had his back turned to officers as he was facing the other man.

The incident happened at about 9:15 a.m. Thursday at Driftwood Ave. and Cobbler Cres., in the Jane and Finch area.

Toronto police called the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to take over the case shortly after the shooting, Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu said.

There are 11 SIU investigators and four forensic investigators looking into the case.

The SIU hasn’t confirmed Precious’ account. The agency investigates all incidents involving police resulting in death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.

SIU spokesperson Jason Gennaro confirmed the agency had taken over the investigation Thursday. SIU staff are interviewing witnesses and canvassing the area but haven’t yet designated an officer to be the subject of the investigation, he said.

Gennaro confirmed that when two Toronto Police officers arrived on scene, they found a man stabbing another man. Shortly after, there was an “interaction” that led to one of the officers discharging their firearm.

“A 26-year-old man was struck,” Gennaro said. Both the man who was struck by the discharged bullet and the man who was stabbed were rushed to hospital.

It doesn’t appear any police officers were injured.

SIU would not confirm where the man was shot, or how many shots were fired.

Both men remain in hospital in serious but not life-threatening condition. The man who was stabbed appears to be about 60 years old, Gennaro said.

It’s unclear if these two men were known to each other.

As SIU investigators arrived at the scene Thursday, a pool of dark red blood could be seen taking up the better part of a square of sidewalk on the corner of the intersection. A few metres away lay a black jacket with what appeared to be a white shirt on top, while a black baseball cap sat on grass nearby.

A weapon — which looked like a butcher’s knife without a handle — could also be seen next to an evidence marker.

Driftwood Ave. is lined with old apartment buildings, about 10 to 15 storeys, while Cobbler Cres. has small bungalows with flowers in most yards.

Neighbours looked on as police spoke with a group of young people behind a line of yellow crime tape. Meanwhile, a school bus and a TTC bus also sat in the taped-off area, which included most of the block.

Precious said the TTC bus passed by while the altercation was happening, so those on board likely saw the altercation. He added he doesn’t think any children were on the school bus when it passed by a few minutes later.

The SIU is looking for possible footage from the TTC bus that could assist with the investigation. It is also seeking any video footage obtained by witnesses.

The scene was handed back over from the SIU to Toronto Police Forensics at about 4:45 p.m. Thursday.