

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





At least three teenagers were injured and a high school was placed in hold and secure after an altercation at a commercial plaza in Scarborough on Friday afternoon.

Toronto police say a fight broke out a plaza, located on Lawrence Avenue East near Rushley Drive, sometime before 3:30 p.m.

At least two people were stabbed in the confrontation and then retreated into David and Mary Thomson Collegiate to seek assistance.

Const. David Hopkinson initially said four people were injured but paramedics later said only three people were transported to a hospital trauma centre.

One was in life-threatening condition and two others were in serious condition.

A witness who attends the school told CP24 he had just left the high school when he saw a male on the ground with two of his friends covering a wound.

“He was yelling ‘wallahi, wallahi,’” he said.

“Wallahi” means “I swear by God,” in Arabic.

He saw a total of three injured males taken from the scene. One male was bleeding from a wound in his neck.

The student said fights are common after school, but they usually don’t involve this level of violence.

“I thought there was going to be a mini-fight as it usually happens where some kid says something and others get all mad, but when I came there and saw the blood and I was first a bit shocked and my phone immediately went into my hand and I dialed (911).”

He said many witnesses were overwhelmed by what they saw.

“Most people were walking away, almost throwing up, saying ‘I can’t take this, I can’t take this’.”

The Toronto District School Board tweeted that one of the victims is 17-years-old and his parents have been notified.

Hopkinson said the first officers on scene requested backup to properly secure the scene and conduct the investigation. Officers had taped off scenes at a nearby McDonalds and the parking lot of a Chinese grocery store southwest of the school.

Police said they are searching for two undescribed suspects wanted in connection with the incident.