Two men were seriously wounded in a shooting near a plaza in Scarborough Saturday evening, Toronto police say.

Emergency crews were called to Pitfield Plaza, near Sheppard Avenue East and McCowan Road, after 8:30 p.m. for a shooting.

When officers arrived at the scene, they initially did not locate a victim but found at least 16 shell casings.

Police were later informed that two men in their 20s showed up at a local hospital suffering from gunshot wounds to the lower body, Insp. Michael Williams said, adding that their injuries are non-life-threatening.

"From what we understand, there's possibly a barbecue that these two victims may have attended a short distance away from here and may have been leaving at the time of the shooting," Williams said.

He noted that the area was busy when the incident happened, and several people were seen scattering and running away.

There was also a dark-coloured four-door sedan that fled the area, Williams said.

"We're trying to piece together exactly what took place and who was involved and how and trying to connect if the vehicle was involved and where everyone left afterwards," he said.

Police currently don't have a specific description of the suspect.

Williams said the two victims are talking to officers and cooperating with the investigation.

He is appealing to those who were in the area at the time of the shooting or anyone with dashcam video to contact investigators.

"We want to piece this together because, again, here's a community that's traumatized trying to enjoy a barbecue and shots were subsequently fired out in front of a busy plaza and an apartment building," Williams said.

"We really are asking for the public's help to try and figure out exactly what happened and how these young men were injured and hopefully, bring our suspect to justice."