Police shooting at Toronto airport on Thursday, left man dead, while subsequent closure of access roads caused chaos for travelers at busy hub during rush hour

Man, in his 30s, allegedly drew a weapon on officers who responded to a report of a “man in distress” inside of an SUV outside of Terminal 1 just before 7 am

10 minutes after cops tried to deescalate the situation the man allegedly pulled out a gun on the officers

Two officers opened fire, hitting the unidentified man who was pronounced dead at the scene, but no cop was injured

Unidentified man was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead after police-involved shooting at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Thursday

Officers of the Peel Regional Police shot and killed an armed man at Toronto Pearson International Airport causing a ‘logistical nightmare’ at the busy travel hub, at peak travel time, early Thursday. 
The yet unidentified man in his 30s, allegedly pulled out a gun when police responded to a report of a “man in distress” inside of an SUV outside of Terminal 1 just before 7 a.m. Three officers responded to the call.
The officers had been attempting to mediate the dispute for around 10 minutes when the man abruptly took out a firearm and pointed it at an officer, prompting the two officers to open fire, according to Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit.

Peel Regional Police officers are seen responding to an incident at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Thursday, April 24, 2025

The police involved shooting outside Toronto’s Pearson International Airport created a transport logistics nightmare as the aftermath cut off traffic heading to Terminal 1

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. He did not fire his weapon at police and none of the officers was injured the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said.
The man “in distress” had been in an SUV at Terminal 1 departures, but the shooting happened outside the vehicle, the SIU said.

Highway 409 to Terminal 1 departures is closed as Peel Regional Police investigate. Flight delays are expected, according to officials

Highway 409 to Terminal 1 departures is closed as police investigate and flight delays are expected, according to officials.
Former Toronto police homicide detective Mark Mendelson described the shooting as a “logistical nightmare” given the amount of people coming and going from the busy airport.
“This is the peak time at Pearson, this hour of the day. Lots of U.S. flights going out, lots of Caribbean flights going out, lots of planes coming in as well,” he said.
“There is an enormous amount of people. Well over 100,000 people in this particular sort of time slot.”