Gun Fired Inside Washroom During Altercation at Toronto High School, Police Say

Gun was fired after a fight involving six individuals

A Toronto Police Services logo is shown at headquarters, in Toronto on Aug. 9, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov)

A gun was fired inside a bathroom at a Toronto high school after a fight involving six individuals broke out there on Jan. 12, police said.

The incident, which slightly injured an outreach worker who tried to stop the fight, happened at East York Alternative Secondary School at about 1.10 p.m.

The school was placed under lockdown following the incident but was lifted by evening. Students were also allowed to leave, said Jason Albanese, deputy inspector at the Toronto Police Service, who was at the scene.

The inspector confirmed one bullet was discharged from the firearm.

“It was fired into the ground area and ricocheted off the wall and the projectile ended up inside the worker’s shoe,” he told reporters.

“The outreach worker suffered very minor injuries [but] was taken to a local hospital for precaution.”

Albanese said the six individuals fled before police arrived. They were last seen on foot eastbound on Cosburn Avenue, where the school is located.

He added that police are already looking into their identities. “We do believe some of the people were school students here, but we’re just trying to piece together if they all were or were just some of them.”

‘We Are Very Fortunate’

Police have not recovered a weapon involved in the incident, Albanese said.

“We are very fortunate that nobody was seriously injured in this incident, but having said that every time something like this happens it is very concerning for the police, it is very concerning for the Toronto District School Board and for the students alike,” he said.

“Just because someone was miraculously safe from further injury in this doesn’t mean it is any less concerning for us.”

About 130 students attend East York Alternative Secondary School, which runs from Grade 9 to 12, according to Ryan Bird, spokesman for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). “I think just around 60 today were present at the school.”

Bird said members of TDSB’s professional support services team will be at the school on Jan. 13 for “anyone that wants to talk about this [incident].”

“We are very happy that everyone is okay after this incident this afternoon. We are going to make sure that we are supporting our students and staff here,” the spokesman said.

The shooting is the latest addition of violent incidents that occurred at a Toronto school in recent months.

On Oct. 31, 18-year-old Jefferson Peter Shardeley Guerrier was found dead after being shot outside Woburn Collegiate Institute in Scarborough. Another 15-year-old boy was injured.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.