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Toronto police say officers were briefly called to a downtown mall to manage an unusually large crowd that may have been drawn to the area by a social media post.

Const. Alex Li says officers were asked to help the Toronto Eaton Centre security team with crowd management as throngs of people unexpectedly packed part of the mall.

Li says police were not able to confirm why the hordes congregated there but said there were reports that someone posted about a free giveaway on social media.

Images from the scene show a tightly packed group crowded around a fountain on the bottom floor of the mall, with onlookers gathered around balconies on higher levels.

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Li says police were on the scene for about an hour and a half until the crowd dispersed.