Police have released suspect security photos after a man was shot inside the Osgoode subway station on Thursday morning. The incident took place just before 11am and the victim, believed to be 19 and
caught exclusively by
CityNews cameras, below, was found on the platform, bleeding heavily from two gunshot wounds -- one to the leg, and one to the abdomen.
He was rushed to hospital where his condition has been upgraded from critical to serious. His injuries are not considered life threatening.
Witnesses report hearing between 3-7 shots, but miraculously no one else was hit despite the area being heavily populated with morning commuters. A subway rider assisted the wounded man until paramedics arrived, while others scrambled for the doors in a panic.
"I heard three gunshots and everyone just ran up the stairs," one witness explained. "I didn't see anything, we just ran."
A man police would only call a 'person of interest' was arrested not far from the scene at Queen and Spadina, moments after the violence erupted. "We got information from witnesses on scene, he was pointed out and arrested by officers a couple blocks away from the scene," notes Sgt. Don Hutchinson.
No weapon has been recovered and police later revealed that the person in custody was not the shooter.
"He's not involved in this particular incident," confirmed Supt. Hugh Ferguson at a 2pm presser. "He (was) being investigated but we've determined that he is not the person responsible for the shooting."
The gunfire was reportedly sparked by a confrontation involving a group of young males, but only one gun was believed to be used in the incident.
"The information we've been able to gather so far indicates that the train pulled into the station, there was a group of young males on the train, they came off the train, engaged in some sort of a dispute, the nature of which we're not sure at this time, and during the course of that dispute the shots rang out," Ferguson explains.
The ETF was also called to the scene, and officers searched the tracks as a precaution to make sure no other suspects were hiding in the underground tunnels.
"We can't rule out that they may have gone back into the tunnels, thus the search of the tunnels," Ferguson said.
Now that the suspect's photo has been released, police are hoping it's only a matter of time until he's found, or turns himself in. But for now, he's on the loose, and potentially armed and dangerous.
He's described as:
"(The victim) is speaking to us," Ferguson confirms. "We have information, sketchy at this time, but...information that leads us to believe that the victim travelled down from the north end of the city on the subway. So we're asking for anyone that may have been on the train from the top end of the University line right down to where the incident happened at Osgoode that may have witnessed anything to give us a call here at 52 Division at
416-808-5200 with any information they might have.
"Like every other person, I'm concerned about it," he concludes. "Our job, if you will, is public safety and it's obviously concerning when this type of stuff happens anywhere in the city, never mind on our public city systems."
The area was cordoned off for quite some time and the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line was shut down from St. George to Union with shuttle buses running. All subway service has now been restored.
Bottom Four Photos: Michael Talbot, CityNews.ca