Two teens were taken to hospital with serious injuries after a shooting in East York on Thursday night.

Police responded to sounds of gunshots at around 9 p.m. in the area of Cosburn and Pape Avenues, said Const. David Hopkinson.

Hopkinson said police officers were nearby and responded quickly, locating the two victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

“Both of them (sustained injuries that) were serious and possibly life threatening,” said Sandra McLeod, deputy commander for Toronto Paramedic Services.

Police are looking for a male suspect that fled on foot, possibly through backyards.

“I don’t even know if the person that we’ve sighted is considered a suspect or just sombody fleeing the scene,” said Hopkinson.

Police are searching the area.

The shooting was the latest in a rash of gun violence across the city. Three shootings rocked west-end Toronto in a 48-hour period earlier this week.

Mayor John Tory said he has spoken to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about community safety.

“Some of the commitments they made, all the parties made about investing in communities, were now need to be acted upon,” Tory told reporters Friday morning at an unrelated road safety campaign launch.

“I think that should be done in partnership with all three governments. We set a good precedent for that with the community spaces, investments we made to support the police.

“So I think it is time now for us all to step up and do more, and that is something that I am talking to people in the other governments about. I think the thing we have to note however is putting those community supports in place doesn’t necessarily have a kind of immediate effect on some of these acts of random violence, especially involving guns.

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“But it is an investment we have to make certainly in the medium and long term. We have to make it now to get the benefits in the medium and long term.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that the other governments understand that and that we’ll be able to take some additional initiatives. We’re already doing a lot in this area, but I think there’s more to be done, especially in specific areas where we’ve seen very concentrated acts of violence in this calendar year.”

With files from Ben Spurr