As many as 15 young people were involved in a shooting spree that killed a teenage girl and injured six others in a packed downtown Toronto area on the busiest shopping day of the year, police said Tuesday.

Det. Sgt. Savas Kyriacou told a news conference that an intense police investigation is underway following the Boxing Day shooting.

Police cordoned off the site of the shooting, on Yonge Street in the core of Toronto's downtown shopping district.
Police cordoned off the site of the shooting, on Yonge Street in the core of Toronto's downtown shopping district.

Kyriacou called the violence despicable and tragic.

"It was a tragic loss and a tragic day," he said.

"I say tragic because it's a day when Toronto has finally lost its innocence."

Det. Sgt. Savas Kyriacou
Det. Sgt. Savas Kyriacou

The shooting happened just before dinnertime Monday as shoppers crowded the sidewalks of Yonge Street, just north of the tourist-heavy Eaton Centre shopping mall.

A 15-year-old girl, whose name has not yet been released, was shopping with her family when she was hit by a bullet. Earlier reports had said she was 19.

Police evidence markers line the street
Police evidence markers line the street

The teen was declared dead in hospital following the 5:19 p.m. shooting. Witnesses said she had been standing outside a Foot Locker store when she was shot in the head.

One man working at the sporting-goods store's cash register said people began rushing in seeking safety.

Saw girl on ground

"I just came out and I saw a girl lying (down)," he said. "She was bloody on the ground."

Six other people – described by police as four males and two females – were taken to hospital. "One person, a male, is in critical condition," Kyriacou said.

"We're treating all people who were injured as innocent bystanders," he said. He added that "a number of people have provided us with information."

Police officers said they arrested two young men and seized a gun.

Busy road closed

A section of Yonge Street – normally a busy north-south thoroughfare in the heart of downtown – remained closed Tuesday as police continued their investigation.

Within an hour of the shooting, police arrested two young men at a nearby subway station, where they recovered a gun. But it was still uncertain if the two were involved in the violence and no charges had been laid yet.

Police added that more guns could have been involved and there could be more arrests.

10-15 people may have been involved

Police said they believe the gunfire broke out between two groups, with 10 to 15 people in their late teens to early 20s involved in an exchange of gunfire on busy Yonge Street.

News of the shooting shocked the city, which has been reeling from a mounting toll of gun violence this past year.

There has already been a record number of gun-related deaths this year in Toronto – 52 – reported by Dec. 26, out of 78 slayings in total.

In an interview with CBC News, Toronto Mayor David Miller said he was appalled and shocked by the shooting.

Miller said the city needs less police officers stuck behind desks, and more out patrolling the streets.

He said the provincial and federal governments needs to do more to help get guns off the streets.