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Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders appealed for help Wednesday in tracking down members of a drunken mob who hurled bottles at officers in Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday night.

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“What we saw over the weekend at Yonge and Dundas Square was extremely disturbing,” Chief Saunders said at a news conference. “We saw behaviour that was dangerous, behaviour that was reckless, behaviour that could have caused extreme, serious injuries.”

Chief Saunders said officers were called to the square during Nuit Blanche after reports of a person with a gun. When they arrived a fight broke out, people fled and a woman was trampled. Police arrested a suspect with a fake gun, a baton and a knife. At that point, “the mood of the crowd changed,” Saunders said. People in the crowd started to throw bottles at the officers.

There were smiles, laughter, encouragement, booing and cheering

The most concerning part of the whole ordeal, Saunders said, was how bystanders reacted.

“It seems clear that for many there, it was a party atmosphere,” he said. “There were smiles, laughter, encouragement, booing and cheering — attitudes completely at odds to the threats to those in the square.”

One officer broke a bone in his hand and two helmets were cracked.

Police showed YouTube video of the incident Wednesday and appealed for more video that could help identify suspects.