A teenage girl has been taken to hospital after a being shot with a replica firearm in Brampton, police say.
Peel Regional Police said the incident occurred in the Central Park Drive and Grenoble Boulevard area at around 11:24 a.m. on Friday.
Police said a teenage girl was found with two gunshot wounds to her leg and was taken to a local hospital.
Officers initially said the girl was 13-years-old, but later said she is actually 17.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Peel Regional Police Const. Sarah Patten said the girl’s injuries have been deemed non-life-threatening.
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Patten said the incident occurred in a plaza, just outside of a Pizza Pizza.
Police are searching for a male suspect, and are now canvassing the area.
“We do think we know who the suspect is and are trying actively to locate him,” Patten said.
Several schools were temporarily placed into a hold and secure, which have since been lifted.
Officers confirmed the girl was shot with a replica firearm.
Patten said officers believe the suspect is a student, but said it is not clear if he is known to the victim.
Police urged the public to “be vigilant of their surroundings” while the search for the suspect continues.
The Pizza Pizza franchisee, Grace Lai, told Global News she heard a boy and girl arguing in the plaza.
She said the girl was holding the door open, and was about to enter the restaurant when she was shot.
“I quickly called the cops, and then I ran to the walk-in clinic to ask the doctor to come just in case – you know the leg, it could be the arteries,” Lai said.
She said the girl was brought inside the restaurant where they waited for help.
“She was sitting here, bleeding everywhere,” she said.
“We had a lot of students at that time,” she continued. “So we locked the door we don’t want anybody (to) get hurt so we locked the door.”
Lai said the incident was “very scary,” adding that other students in the restaurant were in “shock.”
“The most important thing is the kid’s safety. So I just made sure the kids are doing okay,” she said.
She said she told the other kids in the restaurant to calm down and to call their parents to tell them they are safe.
“I don’t know what happened to Brampton, it used to be a nice city … now it seems like every day something happens in Brampton,” Lai said.
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