A witness to the Toronto shooting where at least 14 people were gunned down, one who was killed, has described the "mayhem" as "terrifying".
Toronto Police officers walk the scene at Danforth St. at the scene of a shooting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 23, 2018. Photo: AFP
The shooting happened in the Danforth and Logan avenues, where witnesses said they heard 25 gunshots.
Toronto Police have confirmed 14 people were shot with a handgun, a female adult has died and a young girl, aged eight or nine, is in a critical condition.
Some of the victims are being treated at the scene, while others have been taken to local hospitals.
Journalist, Jeremy Cohn, posted footage from the scene, saying that "victims are spread across many blocks".
Jody Steinhauer told Checkpoint she was out to dinner for a birthday on Danforth Avenue with three generations of her family when shooting began.
"We were kind of halfway in the restaurant and then all of a sudden we heard a rang of what sounded like firecrackers but it was extremely loud.
"Someone just said, 'Get to the back,' and we just got the kids and everybody went right back.
"All you could hear was screaming and there was a woman coming in off the street and she was yelling, 'Help me, help me,' and she had been shot in the leg."
Ms Steinhauer's husband and a restaurant worker went and got the woman. A doctor happened to be at the hospital and stabilised her until emergency services could arrive.
"We couldn't even get through to the emergency 911 numbers because the circuits were so jammed," said Ms Steinhauer.
The gunman had either been shot or he had committed suicide only four doors down from the restaurant she was in.
"We just wanted to get out and kind of get the kids to safety and thank goodness we're okay. We're all shaken up but thank goodness we're okay.
"It's just mayhem, nobody really knows what's going on."
Gun violence was increasing in Toronto, she said.
"We've had an incredible increase in guns this summer and all they've been talking about on the radio is this incredible increase in shootings, and that police need to do something about it."
Toronto is grappling with a sharp rise in gun violence this year. Deaths from gun violence in the city jumped 53 percent to 26 so far in 2018 from the same period last year, police data last week showed, with the number of shootings rising 13 percent.
- RNZ, BBC, Reuters