Toronto police’s homicide unit is investigating after a man was found dead on the University of Toronto’s downtown campus on Thursday morning.
The discovery was made outside the Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building at 144 College St., just west of Queen’s Park Crescent West.
Police said they were called to that area just after 8:20 a.m.
They initially said they believed that the incident was not suspicious in nature. Police have since deemed the man’s death a homicide.
Paramedics told CTV News Toronto that they attended the scene, but did not transport anyone to the hospital.
Police have not provided any details about what may have led to this incident, nor the identity of the victim.
‘Incident on campus’ poses no risk to surrounding area, says dean
On Thursday, Lisa Dolovich, dean of U of T’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, notified faculty, students, and staff of an “incident on campus,” which she indicated occurred directly north of the pharmacy building.
“Toronto Police and Campus Safety are present and investigating the site. We have been informed that there is no risk to the surrounding area and that operations can proceed as planned,” she wrote.
Dolovich advised that there may be restrictions to certain walkways in the surrounding area while the investigation is ongoing.
She also reminded students of resources available to them at the U of T community.
Seeing a body covered by an orange tarp was unsettling for students as they arrived for morning classes.
“Stuff like this doesn’t usually happen in universities. We just walk around and just try to go to class. Yeah, we don’t see stuff like this all the time at all,” said one student.
“I don’t know much to think about it. You know, it’s it’s very, very sad to see. ... They just said that there was an incident on campus. They didn’t specify much, and they offered resources for students,” added another.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Toronto police at 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Mike Walker
