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At the scene — next to a bus stop where a bus was forced to stop — officers found a woman dead, police said. A male victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Jackson Square and a swath of King were closed as police searched for a suspect last seen fleeing north on James. The suspect remained outstanding as of 8:45 p.m.

Officers, some with guns drawn, could be seen running up the outdoor stairs to the second level of the mall. Meanwhile, on ground level, parked cruisers appeared to block a portion of sidewalk where a yellow tarp was observed.

“This is at the preliminary part of the investigation so I’m not about to speculate, but what the community should know is we are here and we will find who did this,� Insp. Greg Doerr told reporters.

Doerr said he had no information to suggest the victims were getting on the bus. It’s unclear what they were doing in the area, or from which direction the suspect approached them.

A large police presence is expected in the area for several hours as homicide detectives canvass for evidence and witnesses.

Among the latter are “multiple people� who Doerr said were on the bus at the time of the shooting. “Our primary concern is them and that they’re taken care of,� he said. He didn’t know if the bus had any bullet holes.

The shooting and subsequent suspect search did not shut down the popular Art Crawl event happening less than 500 metres up James Street North, where hundreds of people milled about artisan booths, restaurants and galleries after 7 p.m.

Police have shuttered the area of King, James and MacNab streets to both pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

“The public is asked to avoid the area until further notice,� police said in a release. “We thank everyone for their cooperation and understanding�

Anyone with information or dashcam footage of the shooting is asked to contact Det. Michael Ebert of the homicide unit at 905-546-4167.