Toronto police have identified a suspect after shots rang out inside Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall on Thursday.
Police said emergency crews were called to the north-end mall at around 2:50 p.m. with reports of the sounds of gunshots.
The incident happened in the southeast corner of the mall near a café and the security office. Police said two male suspects were last seen leaving an exit in the same part of the mall.
No one was hit by the gunfire, but authorities said two people received minor injuries while exiting the mall.
Video captured by witnesses at the scene showed shoppers running for cover.
Police said in an update Friday afternoon investigators are looking for 20-year-old Toronto resident Zion Sankar-Beharry in connection with the incident. Officers said the suspect, who is wanted for discharging a firearm with intent, was last seen on Thursday at around 5 p.m. near Warden Avenue and Steeles Avenue East.
Investigators said Sankar-Beharry should be considered “armed and dangerous.” If anyone sees the suspect, they are encouraged to call 911.
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Meanwhile, the mall reopened to customers and employees on Friday.
Janice Somersall-French, a Yorkdale employee who returned on Friday to retrieve her purse, said she was slightly apprehensive coming back.
“Although it wasn’t a mass shooting for everybody, it just makes you realize that you can’t get too comfortable and that’s a shame because it’s a great mall,” Somersall-French said.
“I didn’t want to come here. But I needed my purse, my car, so I had to come. But it’s like falling off a bike. If you don’t come back, you’ll never come back.”
Anthony Gabrielli said he felt safe returning, although he did notice a much smaller crowd in the morning when doors opened.
“At first we really didn’t really know if we were going to come in today, like who knows what can happen. But at the same time, the city’s got to move forward and it’s Yorkdale. We know this place,” he said.
“I don’t feel unsafe at all. It’s just a regular day. There’s just less people here. So you can get your shopping done faster.”
A statement provided to Global News by a public relations firm representing the mall said Yorkdale officials will not be commenting further on the shooting.
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Video shows people running inside Yorkdale following a shooting -
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Video shows people exiting Yorkdale after a man fired three shots inside -
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Yorkdale Shopping Centre closed after shots fired during altercation between two groups -
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Mother and son recount how leisurely afternoon at Yorkdale turned chaotic as shots were fired -
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‘There is no emergency preparedness plan’ says Yorkdale store employee who heard shots -
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‘Thankfully, no one was hit’: police voice concerns after Yorkdale shooting -
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Officers ‘already on scene’ at time of Yorkdale shooting: police -
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No injuries as a result of shooting, but 2 injured trying to exit Yorkdale mall: police -
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Shots fired after ‘altercation’ at Yorkdale Shopping centre: police -
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Witness recounts seeing the shooting inside Yorkdale Shopping Centre
–With files from Kamil Karamali
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