4 Shot, 3 Arrested at Toronto Raptors Rally, Police Say

Following the shooting of four people at the Toronto Raptors rally, three suspects were arrested. The suspects are to appear in court today.

• By Kaitlyn DeHaven
• Jun 18, 2019

Police say four people were shot and three suspects were taken into custody following a shooting that occurred Monday, June 17 in the east bay of Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto during the N.B.A. championship celebration for the Toronto Raptors.

The City Hall square was packed with tens of thousands of Raptors fans celebrating their victory – the first of this magnitude since the Blue Jays won the World Series in 1993. As the shots rang out, people rushed out from the square, creating a stampede.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said none of the gunshot or stampede victims suffered any life-threatening injuries.

“We do have people arrested with firearms, and that’s the start of the investigation,” Saunders said.

The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Toronto May John Tory, NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and other Raptors players were onstage at the time of the shooting. The host of the ralley, sportscaster Matt Devlin, interrupted one of the speeches to inform the crowd of the serious situation and ask everyone to stay calm.

“I want to make sure everyone stays calm,” Devlin said. “This is serious. Everyone stay calm … There is an emergency being dealt with.”

Toronto CityNews said that the suspects of the shoot are to appear in court Tuesday, June 18.