What to know
- Festivalgoers who witnessed the shooting at Salsa on St. Clair describe scenes of panic and confusion.
- Toronto Police say the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been announced as of Sunday morning.
- The festival was supposed to run all weekend, but it will not be resuming on Sunday.
- Premier Doug Ford and NDP leader Marit Stiles have also offered their condolences on social media.
Festivalgoers who witnessed Saturday night’s deadly shooting at Toronto’s Salsa on St. Clair festival are sharing videos and firsthand accounts online, describing scenes of panic, confusion and frustration after gunfire erupted during one of the city’s biggest summer block parties.
On Saturday evening at approximately 8 p.m., a shooting took place at the Salsa on St. Clair festival that left two dead and six injured. Toronto Police are continuing their investigation and as of Sunday at noon, no arrests have been made.
In light of the ongoing investigation, Salsa on St. Clair is not resuming on Sunday. Originally, the festival was scheduled to run on both Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12.
‘We can’t have nothing nice in Toronto’: Witness accounts online show confusion and frustration over the incident
On Saturday evening, as Torontonians were leaving the festival en masse to seek safety, some festivalgoers documented their experiences on social media.
A TikTok by 6Ixwalks shows the moment chaos erupted. In the video, a man is seen dancing and having a good time before a crowd of people starts running towards the camera, causing some to get trampled in the crush.
@6ixwalks Chaos Erupts at Salsa on St. Clair #SalsaOnStClair #TorontoNews #TorontoEvents #CaughtOnCamera #FestivalChaos ♬ original sound – 6ixWalks
Another attendee named Etay Beaton also posted a reel to Instagram, mourning residents’ inability to “have nothing nice in Toronto.” In the video, he said he had only been at Salsa on St. Clair for about an hour before heading gunshots.
“They really got Salsa on St. Clair, bro. This is crazy. Because what do you mean, we pulled up for like one hour and someone already got shot to death? We can’t have nothing nice in Toronto bruh,” Beaton said in the reel.
“Everyone’s trying to come out and have a good time and people are just ruining the functions bro. This is ridiculous. RIP to the dude and honestly Toronto, we need to do better as a city. This is outrageous.”
After shots were fired on Saturday night, two witnesses described to the Canadian Press “a chaotic scene” of festivalgoers “running and screaming.”
Valerie Rodriguez said she got scared and didn’t know what was happening when people told her to lay down on the floor.
A vendor at Salsa on St. Clair, Patty Gutierrez, said she stopped serving customers when she saw a large wave of people running and people getting frantic.
On X, a video taken by a bystander shows Toronto Police tending to a man who sustained gunshot wounds and motioning for the crowd to give them space.
More responses from politicians
Premier Doug Ford posted a statement to X Saturday night expressing his devastation to “the senseless violence at the Salsa on St. Clair Festival.”
“My thoughts are with the victims, their families and everyone affected. Thank you to Toronto Police and our first responders for responding to this horrific incident,” he said.
Ontario New Democratic Party leader Marit Stiles also posted a statement, writing, “I am thinking of the two lives lost and others who were injured and traumatized by the violence this evening on St. Clair West, just a short walk from my home.”
“My family and I are safe, but I can’t imagine what the families of the victims are experiencing tonight. This is horrific. Please stay away from the area and stay home if you can.”
