One man was shot and at least one other suspect escaped in a car following an attempted bank robbery early Saturday in Etobicoke.

Police received a call concerning a holdup at a TD Bank branch near Kipling Ave. and The Queensway around 7:30 a.m., before the branch opened. “There was a person with a gun that went into the bank and made a demand for cash,” said Staff Insp. Michael Earl, crediting witnesses for summoning police before the robbers could escape.

“This is a bank robbery that has gone bad. Witnesses saw what was happening, the police were alerted and got here before the bank robbers could get their escape,” Earl told reporters at the scene Saturday afternoon.

Jason Gennaro, a spokesperson from the Special Investigations Unit, said officers arrived at the scene and encountered at least one man in the parking lot. “More than one officer discharged their firearm. The man was struck,” Gennaro said.

Paramedics transported one man to hospital in life-threatening condition; Gennaro confirmed that his condition had stabilized to non-life-threatening by midday.

The SIU investigates any death, injuries, or sexual assault allegations involving police, and by law, police cannot comment on their investigation. However, they did confirm a suspect was in custody.

After the confrontation, and knowing that at least one suspect was unaccounted for, police called in the Emergency Task Force, whose members surrounded the temporarily closed bank and could be seen on its roof as well.

Shortly after 11 a.m., Toronto Police asked businesses in the area to secure their properties, trapping many weekend customers of a nearby Ikea; this order was lifted at around noon.

Earl said that police would turn to inspecting surveillance-camera footage and contacting eyewitnesses as they hunt the missing suspect — described by police as a white male between 40 and 50 years old — who fled in a silver compact car.

“There is a real public safety concern here,” Earl said.

Anyone with information or who may have witnessed suspicious behaviour in near the crime scene is asked to contact police at 416-808-2200.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: