Toronto Police responded to a gun call near midtown Vaughan Road Academy secondary school with a massive show of force, but had little to show in the way of arrests.
The call came in at about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Officers on Vaughan Road had pulled a motorist over for an unrelated incident when they heard gunshots.
As they came around the corner to investigate, a group of men scattered. Three were detained for questioning.
The school is located at 481 Vaughan Rd., which is halfway between St. Clair and Eglinton Avenue West, and is west of Bathurst Street.
Heavily-armed Emergency Task Force officers aided by police dogs searched the area, looking for either a shooter, victim or evidence that a firearm had been discharged.
"We've escalated our search and expanded our containment area as well," Sgt. Travers Wynne told reporters at one point.
Neither a victim nor a shooter or firearm were located. Police said they have no witnesses to say they saw anyone get shot.
However, two shell casings were located in front of a home on Atlas Avenue about one block east of the high school.
The school had been placed in "hold and secure" mode for a few hours.
Kelly Baker, a Toronto District School Board spokesperson, told CTV News there had been an incident "in the community" that was unrelated to the school.
This resulted in the "hold and secure" designation that is used in the case of external threats, she said.
Rob Davis, a city council candidate in this fall's municipal election, had been in the area and heard the shots.
He said there has been a number of shootings in the neighbourhood over the past few years and would like closed-circuit television cameras installed as a deterrent.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Alicia Markson
