Updated: Sun May. 10 2009 6:30:07 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

Six people were shot early Sunday morning at a house party in Etobicoke, and Toronto police say they are looking for several possible shooters.

Police said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that they need witnesses to come forward with information about the altercation at the party.

The gunmen showed up at 530 The West Mall at around 3 a.m. Detectives wouldn't say if the shooting began right away or if the suspects were at the party for a while.

The six victims, who are reportedly all in their 20s, were transported to hospital but one person has since been released. Three victims are in critical condition. One person was shot in the face, another was shot in the back and another in the neck.

"Everybody dropped to the floor," one partygoer who didn't want to be identified told CTV Toronto. "If you didn't drop to the floor you were running from the bullets, man."

The witness said the host of the party, a young woman, was in her kitchen laughing with friends when the gunmen walked in.

"She wants to find out exactly who done this," he said. "She just wants to find out why."

Det. Lester Wright told reporters there is evidence that some shots were fired near the doorway.

Officers have been going door-to-door in the neighbourhood and have come up with some good information, Wright said.

"We are making good progress in our investigation but with the public's help, we can move a lot faster," he said.

"This is a densely populated area. If people heard some of the commotion early this morning, they can tell us. It's information we can't get from any other means than them telling us," he said.

Wright was quick to say that it's too early in the investigation to determine if this shooting spree is connected to a spate of shootings in North York a couple of weeks ago:

• Omar Waite, 29, was killed on April 22 at a bus stop in the Jane Street and Eglinton Avenue area .
• Danny Lewis, 19, died after being shot in the back and legs in the Rogers Road and Keele Street area on April 21.
• Jarvis St. Remy, 18, was killed May 1 while at a bus stop near Dundas Street and Scarlett Road.

St. Remy died in hospital, making him Toronto's 16th homicide victim of 2009.

Wright said that investigators "are not ruling anything out" but haven't concluded that the shootings were done in retaliation for one of the other shootings.

Det. Andrew Gibson told reporters at the scene that investigators are speaking to witnesses and looking at footage from surveillance cameras in the area.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney