

Joshua Freeman, CP24.com





Two men are dead and another had been injured after a shooting inside a McDonald’s restaurant in the city’s east end early Saturday.

The shooting happened shortly before 3 a.m. at a McDonald’s near Danforth and Coxwell avenues, Toronto police said.

According to police, an armed security guard was picking up food when he got into a fight with two other patrons.

“There was a fairly significant physical confrontation,” Det.-Sgt. Terry Browne told reporters.

Browne said surveillance footage showed the fight started quickly and that the guard fired his gun at some point in the altercation.

The two other men, who are believed to be ages 25 and 40, were pronounced dead at the scene, Toronto paramedic Services said.

The guard was taken to hospital to be treated for a non-life threatening injury to his hand, police said.

Browne said no one has been arrested so far.

“This is a very complicated and complex investigation because it's not as obvious as it appears,” Browne said.

Calling the case “unusual,” he said police will be taking their time and doing their due diligence as they investigate the shooting.

“There's no doubt that the security guard is the involved party for the discharging of the firearm,” Browne said. “We're really trying to put the pieces together on how this all played out.”

There were between six and eight employees and as many as 12 customers in the restaurant when the shots rang out in the main serving area, he said. None of the other patrons or staff were injured.

The security guard's lawyer, Craig Penney, released a written statement Saturday afternoon, confirming that the firearm involved in the shooting was "legal" and "lawfully possessed."

"My client has been released from the hospital, and is grateful to be recovering from his injuries," Penney said.

"He is appreciative of the way in which the police are dealing with the matter, and is thankful to his company for supporting him."

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