Only hours after a late night shooting at York University, the only sign of trouble was a pair of blue paramedics gloves and some bandage wrappers left on the ground between tables left askew in the cafeteria.
Two women were taken to hospital with injuries after the shooting on Thursday night. Police say one was shot in the leg and the other suffered shrapnel wounds and has been discharged.
The television screens in the student centre corridors reported international news headlines and made no mention of the violence that erupted shortly before 10:45pm Thursday night and sent two women to hospital.
Several students walking to class Friday morning hadn't heard of the shooting. Others learned about it through social media, but were skeptical because the university hadn't sent out an email to the student body.
“They send us emails about every little thing as is,” said 2nd year math student Ariel Sosnovsky. “If a girl wasn't being talked to properly, they send an email, but not for a shooting?”
Police say a black man in his mid twenties was walking through the cafeteria and discharged his firearm before fleeing the scene. York's student newspaper quoted a witness as saying it appeared to be an accident.
Police are looking for a suspect described as a black man in his mid-20s, between 5-foot-8 and 6 feet tall wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black coat.
A pair of Toronto police officers arrived at 9:30 am to a mostly abandoned cafeteria and began interviewing staff and students. Other officers were later seen patrolling the hallways.
Toronto Police Services released a call for witnesses Friday morning.
Late Thursday, a sign in the student centre warned informed students that “due to an emergency at the Underground restaurant, all community members are directed to take shelter in place and stay inside until further notice.”
One student, who declined to give his name, said he was at Shopsy's, a nearby sports bar, when people started scrambling.
He said the campus lockdown wasn't strictly enforced.
“They shut the doors and kept serving (drinks),” he said.
York University president Mamdouh Shoukri released a statement shortly before 9am Friday expressing his “thoughts and concerns” for the victims.
The university sent representatives to visit them in hospital, he wrote, and reports their injuries are non-life threatening.
“As we have resumed normal operations, the University has taken several measures to enhance safety on campus, including increasing security patrols and the use of Toronto Police Service,” he wrote.
It's unclear whether the message was sent to students.
Angela and Sandra Casimiri, 4th year students in Children's Studies, said the shooting has made them feel edgy and wonder whether the university shouldn't implement better security on a permanent basis.
“You go to a club, you have to get screened, why not at school?” asked Angela. “It would make me feel safer, especially being a girl.”
York has developed a bad reputation for sexual harassment and assault on campus. Sandra says the reputation may be overblown, but it's not baseless.
“Downtown's pretty bad. But look at where the campus is situated: we're so close to Jane and Finch,” she said.
Violence at York has been blamed on outsiders on campus in the past and some students believe that was the case in this most recent incident.
Humanities student Michael Tang said he left class just after 8pm Thursday night, and walked through the cafeteria, and saw a group of unfamiliar people.
“It's a fourth year course, so normally you recognize people, but there were lots of unfamiliar faces,” he said.
