pacific mall shooting robbery toronto

Chaos breaks out at Pacific Mall after terrifying daytime robbery with shots fired

Shoppers who were at Markham's Pacific Mall on Thursday afternoon are still recovering from the mayhem of a daytime robbery that saw shots fired and sent the shopping centre into lockdown.

People in the area of Steeles Ave. and Kennedy Road noticed sirens and helicopters around 4 p.m., after police responded to what they later confirmed on Twitter to be a robbery that was apparently first reported as a shooting.

Posts warning people to stay away from the building began circulating on social media, with witnesses reporting hearing gunshots.

"Girlfriend working at pmall, says there's an active shooter, and shots are ringing out," one person wrote on Reddit, stating that according to their partner on the scene, it was a jewellery store that was targeted and  authorities arrived around 3:40 p.m.

Based on that personal account, people were told to evacuate the mall around 4:25 p.m.

Videos and other unofficial reports about the incident began making their rounds on socials throughout the afternoon as people wondered what the heck was happening.

One clip from inside the mall shows multiple officers storming the halls with their weapons drawn, yelling at bystanders to leave immediately.

More than one suspect was involved, police told CityNews. The outlet also confirmed that a lockdown went into effect for several hours and that thankfully, no injuries were reported.

YRP has said that they are investigating the crime, but have yet to release any further details.

Lead photo by

@boredtoronto


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Doug Ford just got even tougher on Ontario bike lanes with new measures

Toronto's $27 billion Ontario Line just crossed its biggest construction milestone so far

Rare Canadian gold coin sells for over $1.5 million

Toronto ranked among the top 100 best cities in the world for 2025

A full list of all the items included in Canada's holiday GST cut

Liquid soap sold at stores across Canada recalled due to contamination

Canadians to get GST cut on groceries and new $250 rebate ahead of holidays

Snow is finally coming to southern Ontario and here's when it will hit