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TORONTO Pearson International Airport has been plunged into chaos with severe delays expected after a man was shot and killed by cops on Thursday morning.
The shooting, which took place around 6:50 am, caused a partial shutdown of the airport.
Four paramedics were dispatched to the scene; however, the 30-year-old unidentified man later died of his injuries.
Investigators reportedly called in the Special Investigations Unit, which looks into episodes where police action results in death or injury.
“The province’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating after Peel Regional Police officers fatally shot a 30-year-old man this morning at Toronto Pearson Airport,” the Special Investigations Unit confirmed in a press release.
“Officers located the man, and early information received indicates he produced a firearm.
“Three officers discharged their firearms at the man. The man was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced deceased this morning.”
The SIU reported that six investigators and three forensic investigators were assigned to the case.
Photos from the incident, shared by CP24, show cop cars lining the terminal around 7:10 am.
A witness to the event told the outlet that “he heard some ‘loud, popping noises'” in the distance.
Other witnesses said the shooting sounded like it was coming from pillars 14 and 15 in Terminal 1.
At 8:14 am, the SIU confirmed that there was a police-involved shooting at the airport.
“This is an isolated incident and there are no known threats to public safety,” Peel police said in a post on social media.
The police department warned travelers of long delays at the airport and that there would be a large police presence at the terminal.
A former investigator called the shooting a “logistical nightmare.”
“This is the peak time at Pearson, this hour of the day,” Former Toronto police homicide detective Mark Mendelson told CP24.
“Lots of U.S. flights going out, lots of Caribbean flights going out, lots of planes coming in as well.
“So there is an enormous amount of people. Well over 100,000 people in this particular sort of time slot.”
The shooting comes just a few months after a Delta Air Lines passenger jet flipped when landing.