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A Montreal man is wanted after allegedly shooting a security guard who confronted him after a jewelry store robbery at a North York mall on Tuesday.
Officers were first called to the mall in the area of Sheppard Avenue E. and Don Mills Road around 10:05 a.m., Insp. Kristy Smith told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
“Based on the information that we have so far, it appears the suspect attended the mall just before opening with the intent on robbing a jewelry store,” she said.
“As the suspect was fleeing he was confronted by a member of the mall’s security team. During that interaction, the security guard was shot.”
The victim, who was shot in his midsection, was rushed to hospital and now is in stable condition, Smith said. No other injuries were reported.
Police identified the suspect in a news release later Tuesday, saying he is a 53-year-old Montreal man who has ties to Toronto and Vancouver. He is also wanted in connection with a break-in in Durham Region in August 2023.
The suspect made off with a “quantity of jewelry,” Smith said, but she could not say exactly how much or how much it was worth.
The suspect is described as a white male who was wearing a grey hoodie, grey pants, a blue baseball cap and a white medical mask.
Police believe he was working alone. He was last seen in a white van going southbound on Don Mills Road.
Smith said shoppers can expect an increased police presence in the area in the coming days.
“Our thoughts are with the victim, who is a member of the mall’s security team and works closely with our officers on a regular basis,” she said.
Romal Patel, who works in the mall, said he saw the victim fall down after he heard a gunshot near Michael Hills Jewellers.
“I saw the victim fall down and he was screaming, ‘I got shot,’ and there was some blood coming out,” Patel said in an interview.
Social media video shot at the scene, verified by CBC News, shows people rushing to help a bleeding man lying on the mall’s floor, while a person can be heard screaming in the background.
Cadillac Fairview, which runs the mall, directed questions about the incident to Toronto police.
“Our immediate priority remains the safety and security of our community of employees, tenants, and visitors, especially those impacted by this morning’s incident,” mall officials said in a statement.
Police are asking anyone with information or video footage of the incident to contact investigators or Crime Stoppers.
