TORONTO — A Toronto police officer was shot in the upper thigh early Thursday by a 27-year-old suspect who was already out on conditions for previous weapons offences and wanted on outstanding warrants, police say.Officers responded around 3:20 a.m. to a robbery call involving a stolen e-bike in the St. James Town area near Bloor Street East and Sherbourne Street. They located a suspect a short distance away and a brief foot pursuit followed. During the arrest, the man pulled out a firearm and shot one officer, according to Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue.Officers immediately applied a tourniquet. The three-year veteran of the service was taken to St. Michael’s Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and is in stable condition. Mayor Olivia Chow said the officer is expected to recover. Police did not fire their weapons. A firearm was recovered and the suspect was arrested. A second suspect involved in the original theft remains outstanding..Pogue said the 27-year-old was out on conditions for firearm offences and was wanted on two warrants from Peel Region and Waterloo related to firearms and other serious crimes.“Think about what happened here. We had our officers responding to a call for a stolen e-bike. The person they encountered was carrying a firearm and when confronted by police, he allegedly used it to shoot one of our officers. That is an extraordinary and deeply concerning level of violence,” Pogue said. “There must be stronger consequences and meaningful deterrence for this type of violent criminal behaviour.”Toronto Police Association president Clayton Campbell said roughly 600 officers have been injured on the job so far this year. He noted the shooting comes only months after Const. Marc Pinizzotto was killed in the line of duty and stated: “We have someone out on bail for violent offences committing other violent offences.”.Speaking later Thursday at a news conference in Guelph, Premier Doug Ford offered prayers for the officer and his family and said the province will always support police. He directed sharp criticism at the justice system, saying justices of the peace and judges who release repeat violent offenders on bail “should be fired” and “should be gone.”“You shoot a police officer, you’re done. Ten, 20 years in jail,” Ford said, calling for mandatory sentencing controlled by the federal government and a reduction of the Young Offenders Act age from 18 to 16. He said he had already given Prime Minister Mark Carney a letter signed by all premiers outlining requests from Canada’s police chiefs.“I’d throw every single one of them in jail for a long time… stack them up like pancakes,” Ford added. “We’re going to put them in jail and we’re going to keep them there for a long time.”Charges related to the incident have not yet been publicly released.A name of the suspect also hasn't been released.
