Two people shot during Raptors NBA championship parade
An estimated 1.5 million people gathered to celebrate the Toronto Raptors' historic victory over the Golden State Warriors to become the first non-U.S. team to win the NBA championship.
Police have confirmed that two people have been shot during the Toronto Raptors' NBA championship victory parade this Monday.
Thousands of fans were seen running in panic after four gunshots were heard close to the stage where celebrations were taking place in Nathan Phillips Square.
Following the incident, Toronto Police Operations centre took to Twitter to confirm that two victims had been shot but their injuries were not life threatening, while police had taken two suspects into custody and recovered two firearms.
“Police tape up a Queen and Bay intersection where I just saw one man loaded into the back of an ambulance. His head appeared to be wrapped but eyes seemed open. Eyewitnesses saying they saw cops run towards the Eaton Centre,” tweeted Toronto Star reporter Jennifer Pagliaro during the panic.
Celebrations continued after the incident
An estimated 1.5 million fans attended the parade, including Canadian President Justin Trudeau, who appeared on stage prior to the shootings.
The huge crowd gathered to celebrate Toronto’s historic victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday to become the first non-U.S. team to win the NBA championship.
Shortly after the incident, the celebration ceremony continued at around 4pm local time, with emcee Matt Devlin urging the crowds to stay calm as police dealt with the emergency.