Police shoot man at Toronto’s international airport

Police shot and killed a 30-year-old man at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Thursday morning, police said.

Three officers shot at the man, who they said seemed upset and was armed, before 07:00 local time (12:00 GMT), Ontario police’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), said in a statement.

No police officers were injured, and “there is no known threat to the public”, according to the SUI, which is tasked with investigating incidents involving police.

Police confirmed road closures at departures from Terminal 1, and airport authorities told the BBC that flights “continue to operate normally at this time”.

On Thursday morning, Peele Regional Police officers were investigating a “man in distress” in an SUV at Terminal 1 departures.

“Early information received indicates he produced a firearm” and that “three officers discharged their firearms at the man”, the SUI said.

He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Ontario Provincial Police advised drivers and commuters to “avoid the area”. Buses to the airport initially were rerouted, but Toronto’s public transit authority has confirmed that normal service has resumed.

In a post on X, Pearson airport confirmed that vehicles and passengers departing from Terminal 1 are being rerouted to enter and exit through arrivals due to the investigation.

Multiple users on social media were speculating about the incident, saying there was a heavy police presence around the airport.

Pearson airport is 20km (12 miles) away from Toronto in the city of Mississauga. It is the country’s busiest airport and sees more than 40 million passengers each year.

This not the first time it has made headlines this year.

In February, a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis overturned at Pearson and caught fire after skidding along the runway. All 80 passengers survived.