Police shot and killed an armed man at Toronto Pearson International Airport Thursday causing a ‘logistical nightmare’ at the busy travel hub.
The man, in his 30s, allegedly pulled out a gun when police responded to a report of a “man in distress” inside of an SUV outside of Terminal 1 just before 7 a.m., prompting three officers to open fire, according to Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit.
The unidentified man was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
No officers were injured, authorities said.
The shooting “is an isolated incident and there are no known threats to public safety,” The Peel Police Department said.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Witness Danilo Simic told CBC News he had just dropped off a friend when he heard at least 10 loud bangs — which stopped travelers at the airport dead in their tracks.
“Right away I thought, this can’t be a car’s loud exhaust. This is something different, something that I haven’t heard before,” he said.
Simic told the outlet he saw a man lying on the ground bleeding from his torso and head as he drove away.
An officer was giving him CPR and other cops were holding back a woman from the scene, he said.
Highway 409 to Terminal 1 departures is closed as police investigate and flight delays are expected, according to officials.
Former Toronto police homicide detective Mark Mendelson described the shooting as a “logistical nightmare” given the amount of people coming and going from the busy airport.
“This is the peak time at Pearson, this hour of the day. Lots of U.S. flights going out, lots of Caribbean flights going out, lots of planes coming in as well,” he told CP24.
“There is an enormous amount of people. Well over 100,000 people in this particular sort of time slot.”
