WARMINGTON: Fast-acting cops and paramedics saved lives after mass shooting in North York

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It was Toronto the good, bad, deadly and heroic — all wrapped up in one incident.

This was an all hands-on deck, battlefield triage scene under hostile and potentially lethal conditions. The best of Toronto and the worst of Toronto.

Only in Toronto could our hero police and EMS first responders be heckled and interfered with while trying to save people’s lives. But, as Toronto Police Association President Clayton Campbell told The Toronto Sun, his officers and Toronto medics went about their life-saving work anyway.

There was plenty of that to do.

One person was killed after being shot multiple times Tuesday night, near Yorkdale Mall, at Varna Dr. and Ranee Ave., in Toronto’s 13th homicide of 2025. Five more were wounded but will live.

Several men were bleeding from gunshots to their legs. Another from shots to a foot. Another took a slug into his knee. Another to a thigh. A female was shot in the wrist.

CPR was administered. Tourniquets applied. Stretchers were everywhere. People were pressing on bullet holes to prevent blood from flowing out of wounded bodies.

Police have not yet confirmed the motive for this mass shooting, but sources say the 31-year-old victim who died was wheelchair bound after being wounded in a previous shooting.

It was all out mayhem, with no one diving in to help knowing whether more gunfire was to come.

As the Sun’s Jack Boland reported, police are investigating theories about a possible settling of ongoing beefs in Toronto’s rap world. There is much speculation on social media, but so far, it’s not clear how any of the madness that incurred pieces together?

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Toronto Homicide detectives are expected to update the media again Thursday.

We do know this was a nasty, brazen mass shooting with witnesses describing three masked shooters opening fire into a crowd before taking off in a car.

It was a horrifying scene. Ugly. There were pools of blood everywhere.

There were also blood trails left by those trying to flee, a wheelchair turned on its side, and evidence markers strewn all over the street inside a walkway tunnel. It looked like a war zone.

Gunmen fired a hail of at least 20 bullets into a crowd of people, leaving innocent people caught in the middle of a gutless shootout.

But, luckily, Toronto Police officers and Toronto EMS paramedics were not only on the scene quickly but were at their very best.

“They saved lives,” said one officer involved in the call. “They are all heroes.”

There’s no question about it. This could have been far worse as there were efforts by some to stop officers and medics from doing the job required to keep people from bleeding out.

“Our members rushed to the scene after gunfire erupted in a residential neighbourhood and while performing life-saving measures, including using their tourniquets, our members were accosted by surrounding bystanders, hindering their efforts to provide first aid,” said Campbell.

One officer even took the keys from one paramedic and drove an ambulance to Sunnybrook hospital, allowing for an extra medic to work on the wounded victim.

“As always, they did what needed to be done to keep themselves and others safe,” said Campbell. “This could’ve been a multiple murder if it wasn’t for the efforts of our members and our partners at Toronto paramedics and nearby hospitals. We are grateful they stood up and proud to have their backs.”

Now it’s up to the homicide detectives to determine what was behind the shooting. And a community can thank and honour the fast-moving first responders who prevented this from having even more carnage.