Gunman At Large After Deadly Canada Shooting

A gunman fired shots into a crowd of people in a busy shopping centre in Toronto killing at least one man and injuring seven others, police have said.

A police spokesman said the gunman is still at large despite having searched the Eaton Centre which was immediately evacuated.

A 25-year-old man died at the scene, and two of the other victims - including a 13-year-old boy - are in a critical condition, the spokesman added.

Multiple shots were fired in the centre's food court and hundreds of panicked shoppers ran for the exits as they tried to escape the scene.

Witnesses said some shoppers were wounded after being trampled by the crowd and a pregnant woman went into labour after she was pushed.

Among those fleeing was Toronto Blue Jays baseball player Brett Lawrie who tweeted: "People sprinting up the stairs right from where we just were... Wow wow wow."

Marcus Neves-Polonio, 19, was working in the food court when he saw a man pull out a gun and start firing. He said he saw at least two people on the ground.

Shopper Hannah Stewart, 21, said: "All of a sudden a herd of people were just running toward us, a massive crowd of people screaming, running, freaking out.

"We saw this girl, sitting on the ground, and she had blood on her toes."

Fast food manager Erica Solmes said she heard about 15 shots ring out before a stampede of people ran for the doors.

In 2005, a 15-year-old girl was killed during the Christmas holidays just north of the mall in a shooting that shocked the city during a year of record gun deaths in Toronto, Canada's largest city.