Toronto Police work the scene where an officer was shot responding to an e-bike robbery in Toronto, Thursday.Keito Newman/The Canadian Press
A man has been charged with attempted murder and another suspect is wanted after an overnight arrest over a stolen electric bike ended with a Toronto police officer being shot in the leg, police said Thursday.
Officials said the shooting is the latest incident in a spate of violence against police this summer, including the high-profile shooting death of an officer during a raid in June.
Police said they responded to a robbery call around 3 a.m. in the area of Sherbourne Street and Bloor Street East, after two men on an e-bike approached another e-bike rider, allegedly pushed him off and assaulted him.
One suspect took off on the victim’s e-bike while the other suspect left in another direction, investigators said. One of the suspects allegedly had a knife.
When police found the suspect on the stolen e-bike, they alleged he resisted arrest and pulled out a gun, shooting one of the officers.
Toronto police say an officer was shot in the upper thigh early Thursday morning while arresting a man suspected of stealing an electric bike. Deputy police chief Lauren Pogue says officers ran after the suspect after receiving a robbery call around 3 a.m. in the area of Sherbourne Street and Bloor Street East and the man allegedly pulled out a gun and shot an officer during the arrest.
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Other officers rushed to put a tourniquet on his leg as they waited for paramedics to arrive, Deputy Police Chief Lauren Pogue said at a news conference Thursday.
The officer, who has been with the force for about three years, was taken to hospital with injuries that were serious but not life-threatening.
A 27-year-old man from Peterborough, Ont., who police say was out on bail for “violent offences” and wanted in Peel and Waterloo regions, was arrested, and police seized a firearm.
He faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, robbery with an offensive weapon, and two counts of failing to comply with a release order.
Another suspect is still wanted, and police said they do not have a description of him.
Pogue said the shooting is concerning for the force that is still grieving Const. Marc Pinizzotto, who was fatally shot during a police raid in June.
The deputy chief called the shooting “another troubling example” of why stronger deterrence for violent crime is necessary.
“Here we go again,” said Clayton Campbell, president of the Toronto Police Association, noting that 600 officers have been injured at work this year. That figure is unacceptable, he said.
“We have a police officer laying in there, shot,” Campbell added at the news conference outside St. Michael’s Hospital in downtown Toronto. “We had a police officer murdered only a few months ago.”
Campbell said the police union will support the officer and his family as he recovers.
Mayor Olivia Chow said in a statement on social media that the shooting is “another reminder of what front-line officers face each day as they serve our city and work to keep people safe.”