loblaws toronto

Gun drawn in fight at Toronto grocery store amid coronavirus panic shopping

Amid all of the current chaos surrounding the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic, two shoppers at a Toronto grocery store reportedly got into a  scuffle that somehow ended with one of them pulling out a gun.

Anyone who has visited a supermarket in Toronto in the past few days knows COVID-19 fears have led to mayhem that's included sold-out toilet papermassive lines and empty shelves.

But guns being drawn in the frozen food section, for any reason and at any time, is not something people anticipate during a trip to the store.

According to accounts shared on social media by other customers at the scene, a fight broke out in the back of an aisle at the Loblaws at Queen Street West and Portland around 1:45 p.m. on Friday.

People started running toward the front of the store and shouting at others to run after apparently seeing that one of the two involved in the argument had a gun.

"The emergency alarm started going off and a bunch of us ran out the emergency exit onto Richmond Street," one resident tweeted.

Toronto Police said on Twitter that a man was arrested and that a firearm was recovered during the incident, and that an investigation is ongoing.

At least one additional individual was also apparently involved, according to the Star, having tried to stop the situation from escalating by subduing the perpetrator.

Though it is unclear whether the two shoppers were among the many who are panic buying provisions across the city lately, management staff on the scene said they do not feel that the confrontation was over store products (such as increasingly hard-to-find TP).

Lead photo by

Becky Robertson


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Traffic around Toronto's Gardiner Expressway is about to get a whole lot worse

Lineups for the ferry from the Toronto Islands are already packed and chaotic

Someone tried to help at scene of Ontario crash and had their car stolen immediately

This race proves whether it's faster to 'ride the loop' on TTC subway or walk

Ontario is home to a second venomous snake species you may not know about

There's a new worst road in Ontario but Toronto's nightmare street is still up there

People are complaining about another feature of Toronto's declining waterfront attraction

Canada Child Benefit increasing soon and you could get nearly $7,800 per kid