Gunfire erupted on a busy Toronto street filled with holiday shoppers, killing a young woman and wounding six others, police said -- the latest in a record surge in gun violence in the city this year.
Two suspects were arrested and at least one firearm was seized shortly after the shootings, which occurred on Monday afternoon near the popular Eaton Center shopping mall.
The busy downtown area, popular with tourists, was also the site of two other shootings this year. There have been 78 murders in Toronto this year, including a record 52 gun-related deaths -- twice as many as last year.
The gunfire appeared to stem from a dispute between two young men and the woman killed was a teenage bystander who was out with one of her parents, Toronto police Chief Bill Blair said.
"I'm tremendously angry," Blair said. "The individuals who would be involved in such violence clearly don't care about themselves, they don't care about their fellow citizens, they don't care about the safety of the people of the city."
"There is no rational explanation for such behavior. It is so outrageous, so callous, totally disregarding of the lives and safety of other people in this city."
Authorities did not give the name or age of the female victim. The two suspects were arrested at a subway station.
An off-duty police officer, who was shot in the leg, was among those wounded. Police said it appears he was hit after a bullet ricocheted.
Officials said the six wounded were hospitalized.
Emergency vehicles crowded around the scene on Yonge Street, which was cordoned off with yellow police tape.
"Someone said they were shot and everyone went to the back of the store," said Magnolia Sandoval, an employee at a camera store.
Mayor David Miller called the shooting "a brazen act of senseless violence."
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