Codi Wilson, CTV News Toronto
Four people were wounded after gunfire erupted at Pickering Ribfest late Saturday night, Durham Regional Police confirm.
The shooting took place outside the Pickering Civic Complex.
Police say four people suffered gunshot wounds but the extent of their injuries is not known at this time.
At least one person was taken to a trauma centre for treatment.
Investigators have not released any information on possible suspects.
Police say they will provide an update on the investigation at some point on Sunday morning.
Pickering resident Nick Foster told CP24 that Pickering Ribfest is a family event.
“It is a completely safe event, a lot of great people… We mostly always see families coming here,” he said. “I am just completely shocked that this happened out here.”
He added that he doesn’t believe the recent violence will dissuade members of the community from attending the event.
“I think everyone is still going to come and have a great time,” he said. “That’s what I hope will happen.”
In a tweet sent out Sunday, Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan said he was "troubled" by the incident.
I'm shocked & deeply troubled about the shootings which occurred in @CityofPickering. Kudos to Ribfest organizers for their robust security measures at the entrances, which kept trouble out. All levels of gov't must work together to get these illegal guns off our streets! pic.twitter.com/G9UwYnQojv — Mayor Dave Ryan (@mayordaveryan) June 3, 2018
David Pickles, the deputy mayor of Pickering, said he is out today trying to reassure people that the area is safe.
"I think people are really assured by the police presence that’s going on and the investigation. Hopefully they will get the people off the street that caused this disturbance as quickly as possible and we are very hopeful that the people who are impacted will recover very quickly," Pickles said.
"I think everybody is shocked and unpleasantly surprised. Everybody was having a great weekend down here. We had great weather. A lot of families were out so something like this in our community is really shocking. It is something that we hear about else. We don’t really expect something like this to happen here."
Codi Wilson, CP24.com
Four people were wounded after gunfire erupted at Pickering Ribfest late Saturday night, Durham Regional Police confirm.
The shooting took place outside the Pickering Civic Complex.
Police say four people suffered gunshot wounds but the extent of their injuries is not known at this time.
At least one person was taken to a trauma centre for treatment.
Investigators have not released any information on possible suspects.
Police say they will provide an update on the investigation at some point on Sunday morning.
Pickering resident Nick Foster told CP24 that Pickering Ribfest is a family event.
“It is a completely safe event, a lot of great people… We mostly always see families coming here,” he said. “I am just completely shocked that this happened out here.”
He added that he doesn’t believe the recent violence will dissuade members of the community from attending the event.
“I think everyone is still going to come and have a great time,” he said. “That’s what I hope will happen.”
In a tweet sent out Sunday, Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan said he was "troubled" by the incident.
I'm shocked & deeply troubled about the shootings which occurred in @CityofPickering. Kudos to Ribfest organizers for their robust security measures at the entrances, which kept trouble out. All levels of gov't must work together to get these illegal guns off our streets! pic.twitter.com/G9UwYnQojv — Mayor Dave Ryan (@mayordaveryan) June 3, 2018
David Pickles, the deputy mayor of Pickering, said he is out today trying to reassure people that the area is safe.
"I think people are really assured by the police presence that’s going on and the investigation. Hopefully they will get the people off the street that caused this disturbance as quickly as possible and we are very hopeful that the people who are impacted will recover very quickly," Pickles said.
"I think everybody is shocked and unpleasantly surprised. Everybody was having a great weekend down here. We had great weather. A lot of families were out so something like this in our community is really shocking. It is something that we hear about else. We don’t really expect something like this to happen here."
Four people were wounded when shots were fired at a family event in Pickering, Ont., on Saturday night, Durham police say.
Thousands of people were attending the 11th annual Pickering Ribfest in the city on the eastern border of Toronto when the shooting occurred, according to Staff Sgt. Paul Cummins of the Durham Regional Police Service.
Police received a call about the shooting outside the Pickering Civic Centre, at 1 The Esplanade S., shortly after 11 p.m.
There is a bullet hole in the back of this black car. Police were examining it after the shooting. (Supplied) "Several gunshots were heard and fired in the area of the festival," Cummins said.
"I don't want to say they were shot into the air. I don't know. This is in the early stages of the investigation. And the investigators are still trying to determine exactly what happened," he said.
He said the gunfire erupted "in the general area" of the Ribfest.
Police are not certain whether anyone was deliberately singled out.
4th victim appeared in hospital later
One of the injured was taken to Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Two others were taken to a local hospital.
The fourth appeared at a hospital on his or her own. Police have confirmed that the fourth person had been attending the ribfest.
All suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Cummins said.
Police have not determined whether there was an altercation before the shooting or whether there was more than one shooter.
4 shot at the Pickering Civic Complex at the exit from Ribfest. One victim transported to SickKids, two others to trauma centre, one to local hospital. Large crime scene, multiple shots fired. @DRPS @DRPSWestDiv pic.twitter.com/Bsu84Usmj0 —@ColinWxchaser "The scene was quickly contained," he added.
Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan said in a tweet that he is "shocked and deeply troubled" by the shooting.
"All levels of government must work together to get these illegal guns off our streets!" he said.
In a later tweet, he said the event will resume on Sunday, despite the shooting.
Just confirming that Ribfest is still taking place today from 12 pm to 8 pm. The secured entrance has been relocated to the north side, just past the underground parking entrance of @CityofPickering City Hall. Thank you to @DRPS for all of its assistance. —@mayordaveryan
'Commotion' at scene after shooting
Colin Williamson, a freelance news photographer based in Oshawa, Ont., arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting. He described it as chaotic and confusing.
The event was closing and people were leaving the scene.
Durham Regional Police tape was visible from the outside of the Pickering Ribfest on Saturday night. (Supplied) He said the crime scene was large.
"There was a lot of commotion. A lot of people were still running, a lot of young people, like teenagers, and they were running around everywhere," he said.
Officers were examining two vehicles, a white minivan parked in front of city hall and a black car about 100 metres from all of the activity. The black car had a bullet hole, he said.
Police interviewing witnesses
According to police, no information about a suspect or suspects was available.
Officers are interviewing witnesses and victims as they search for clues as to what happened. Anyone with information is urged to come forward.
I'm shocked & deeply troubled about the shootings which occurred in @CityofPickering. Kudos to Ribfest organizers for their robust security measures at the entrances, which kept trouble out. All levels of gov't must work together to get these illegal guns off our streets! pic.twitter.com/G9UwYnQojv —@mayordaveryan
Durham Regional police say four people have been taken to hospital following a shooting outside of the Pickering Civic Complex and close to the annual Ribfest.
