Gunman opens fire on Toronto bar just before last call
One man is dead and another is seriously injured after a late-night bar shooting near Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue in Toronto.
Toronto Police say that a lone suspect walked into the Red Room Restaurant at 1718 Jane Street in North York around 1:30 a.m. and "started shooting."
A grey SUV was seen fleeing the area shortly thereafter.
1:30 AM: Two men shot at The Red Room Restaurant on Jane St north of Lawrence Av. One victim died on scene, the other was transported to trauma centre with half a dozen gunshot wounds. Police say they're appealing for witnesses. #Toronto pic.twitter.com/FCxiYoDsl2
— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyCohnTV) November 7, 2019
Police found two victims, both suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds, inside the restaurant. One victim was rushed to hospital while the other was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Toronto Police Homicide Squad is now investigating the circumstances of the shooting.
This isn't the first incidence of violent crime to have taken place at the Jane and Lawrence strip mall where the Red Room Restaurant is located, nor is it the first time someone has been injured at the bar.
The front window of The Red Room Restaurant where a gunman walked in and began shooting around 1:20 this morning @globalnewsto @TPSHomicide pic.twitter.com/St88ZXVin0
— Catherine McDonald (@cmcdonaldglobal) November 7, 2019
Just last month, police were called to the restaurant for reports that a man had been shot. No victims were found on site, but a man with gunshot wounds did show up at a nearby hospital shortly afterwards.
Not long after last call on May 7 of 2018, a man in his 20s was stabbed outside the same establishment. In May of that year, another man was stabbed around 1:50 a.m. at the Red Room Restaurant.
The same thing had taken place in October of 2016 after a "verbal confrontation ensued" between two groups of men around 3 a.m. at the strip mall.
Shooting at a restaurant in the Jane & Lawrence neighbourhood. Police on scene investigating. @CityNews pic.twitter.com/YSt95fEfx0
— Tony Fera (@tonyfera1) October 20, 2019
The Red Room shooting is one of at least four that took place across the city last night. No other deaths have been reported but two victims remain in critical condition.
Gun violence continues to be a problem for police and city officials in Toronto as incident and victim numbers rise to never-before-seen levels.
As of Monday, November 4, Toronto Police had a total of 408 shootings on record for 2019 with 614 victims total — more than ever for one year in recorded history.
