

Chris Fox, CP24.com





A reported hostage situation at a marijuana dispensary on King Street West was actually a false alarm.

Police received a 9-1-1 call about a person entering the establishment with a firearm at around 1 p.m.

Police said that they were told that the suspect may have forcibly taken someone inside with them at the time.

As a result, the incident was treated as a possible hostage situation and a large contingent of officers, including members of the Emergency Task Force, descended on the scene.

The ETF officers then entered the building at around 3:45 p.m. after repeated attempts to make contact with someone inside proved unsuccessful.

The all-clear order was then given at around 4:15 p.m. following a thorough search of the building.

“When we get calls like this our main concern is the safety of the public and everyone involved so we treat it as a real call until we can determine otherwise,” Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook told reporters at the scene.” We always have to err on side of caution and take steps needed to ensure that it is safe. We would rather do that then downplay it or not take it serious and have it turn out that it is serious.”

Police received one 9-1-1 call

Douglas-Cook told reporters that police only received one report about a suspect with a gun entering the establishment but had to take it seriously given the potential stakes involved.

When officers from the Emergency Task Force arrived on scene, they immediately surrounded the building and began attempts to make contact with anyone who was inside.

At one point, an officer with a loudspeaker was heard ordering anyone inside to come outside.

At another point, the same officer was heard asking anyone inside to make some sort of noise or call 9-1-1 in order to confirm their presence.

"We know that you are inside the 365 Dispensary,” the officer said. “We have the building surrounded, you will not get hurt. You need to come outside, you need to do it now.”

Members of the Emergency Task force eventually entered the building after receiving a key from its owner, who police had contacted.

The owner, Sal Vescio, told reporters that he reached out to the operators of the dispensary and was told that nobody was inside the business at the time of the call. He said that surveillance cameras at the establishment also back that up.

“It is a good ending but why did it have to be like this. For what? For a phone call. Somebody received a phone call and they come block off the street and shut down all these businesses,” he said.

Douglas-Cook said that police are not looking for any suspects in connection with the gun call but would not confirm whether they are seeking out the person who called 9-1-1.

She said that it is a “possibility” that the call was an example of “swatting,” wherein a party intentionally deceives police in an effort to direct emergency response personnel to a particular address.

“It is a possibility but we don’t want to speculate,” she said.

King Street West was closed between Charlotte Street and Blue Jays Way for more than two hours but has since reopened.

The 501 Queen, 504 King and 514 Cherry streetcars were also turning back westbound at Church and eastbound at Spadina Avenue during the closure but regular streetcar service has resumed.

View from inside @ShopprsDrugMart on King and Peter. Shoppers ordered to stay away from the windows @CP24 #toronto pic.twitter.com/qIQSiNJ1nM — Rebecca Field Jager (@BecJager) October 26, 2017