AIRPORT NOT A TARGET

Operations at Pearson airport in Toronto Thursday morning were disrupted after a 30-year-old man was shot dead by police outside Terminal 1. Police described the event as an isolated incident and said there was no known threat to the public, nor was the airport itself the target. There were no other injuries.

Ontario’s police watchdog said just before 7 a.m., Peel regional police were investigating a “man in distress” in an SUV.

Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said a group of two or three people were in a dispute outside the Terminal 1 departures level, one of whom called 911. Police responded and tried to de-escalate but Duraiappah said the man “abruptly” pulled a firearm.

“There was no critical infrastructure threat,” he said.

“Early information indicates that this individual produced a firearm and the officers responded with the shots fired,” said Kristy Denette, a spokesperson for the Special Investigations Unit. The 30-year-old died at the scene.

Denette said she did not have information about what was reported in the initial 911 call. She was told the man, who was with family members, was in distress, acting “possibly a little erratic” and “maybe agitated,” she said.

Police and the man exchanged words, possibly for several minutes, before he allegedly pulled the gun and shots were fired, Denette said.

Pearson Airport said flights continued to operate normally despite the ongoing investigation.

The airport was rerouting passengers through the arrivals area.

Ontario Provincial Police also closed Highway 409 to the departures level during the incident.

Videos posted to social media showed a heavy police presence outside the terminal with cars backed up leading to the departures level.

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