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.
#BREAKING: A fight broke out at the Loblaws at Queen & Portland. 2 people taken to hospital to be treated and 1 person taken into custody with a gun recovered.
— Kris Pangilinan (@KrisReports) March 13, 2020
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 paper, massive 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.
everyone to run, then EMPLOYEES are SCREAMING at us to MOVE. thankfully the line I was in was beside a storage room so a bunch of us ran there, a staff member told us someone said someone has a gun. then the emergency alarm started going off and a bunch of us ran out the-
— sabrina (@suhbrenah) March 13, 2020
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.
Police responded to a call for Person with a Gun in the Queen Street West and Portland Street area, @TPS14Div. A man was arrested and a firearm recovered. The investigation is on going. #GO526334 ^CdK
— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) March 13, 2020
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.
We killing each other for TP now?
— d (@FreedomGermain) March 13, 2020
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).
Becky Robertson
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