The Toronto Raptors celebration has a smear on it as four people were shot and injured at the celebration rally in Toronto, three people were arrested.
The rally occurred at City Hall square and was the scene of a section of fans scrambling to avoid gunfire. According to ESPN the rally area was packed with tens of thousands of people, with a total of 1.5 million packing the downtown area for the parade through the downtown area of the city.
The injuries of the shooting were confirmed by Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders. The wounds are stated to be not life-threatening. Additional injuries occurred in the attempt to get away from the shooting area.
“We do have people arrested with firearms, and that’s the start of the investigation,” Saunders said at a press conference.
Shortly after the shooting, the host of the event alerted the crowd an emergency happened but urged everyone to stay calm during the incident. After the matter was contained, speeches would continue on stage.
“It is disappointing and I’m sure a source of anger for more than just me that anyone would carry a gun and discharge it at what was otherwise a joyous celebration,” Mayor John Tory said in a statement. “I hope those found responsible will be held to account to the full extent that the law permits. I want to commend and thank the millions of other people who happily and peacefully celebrated our beloved Toronto Raptors.”
Toronto, more than a million of us flooded the streets today to celebrate our Raptors. People of all every age, every race, every religion – our City. As awful as the shooting was and terrifying for many in the crowd afterwards, don’t let it take away from our moment. #WeTheNorth
— Joe Cressy (@joe_cressy) June 17, 2019
The parade would include speeches from Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry and more to celebrate the first championship in Toronto since 1993.
