shooting yorkdale

Chaos as crowds seen running after fireworks go off at busy Toronto mall

Shoppers at Yorkdale Mall had a frightening experience this past weekend after crowds of people mistook the sound of firecrackers for gunshots. 

Several clips from multiple angles within the mall were uploaded on social media over the weekend, showing dozens of shoppers running through the shopping centre just before closing. 

Toronto police confirmed to blogTO that officers attended the scene following reports of sounds of gunshots at approximately 8:41 p.m. 

According to police, on-scene officers determined that there was no firearm involved, and noted that "possibly fireworks" were involved instead. 

A Yorkdale spokesperson told blogTO that the commotion was the result of a firecracker that was set off outside the North entrance of the mall on Saturday evening. 

"Yorkdale security used surveillance footage to confirm that the noise was intentionally caused by a firecracker," the spokesperson said. 

Police were immediately notified, and are using the footage provided to identify the involved parties. 

Just last week, shoppers at Yorkdale experienced another scare when an explosion was heard outside the mall around 7:30 p.m. 

The incident occurred in a parking lot outside of the shopping centre on Wednesday, and involved a mechanical issue with a vehicle. 

Lead photo by

Supplied to blogTO


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Here's a preview of what it will be like to ride on new Toronto LRT line

There's a brand-new $26M TTC subway station entrance in a popular Toronto park

Ontario's largest snake grows up to 2 metres and squeezes prey to death

Ontario is home to world's oldest pool of water at a staggering 2 billion years old

Stunning new Toronto park set to open next year

Toronto somehow isn't home to Ontario's jankiest LRT

A Toronto transit project is actually going to finish early for once

People worried about Ontario police's plan to use facial recognition software