FILE - Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie in a Sept. 10, 2019 photo.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Facebook

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - A teen killed in an "ambush-type" shooting Saturday night west of Toronto is believed to be a bystander and police are searching for at least seven suspects who fired semi-automatic handguns in Mississauga, Ont., said the chief of Peel Regional Police.

"The attackers had complete disregard for public safety within our community," Chris McCord told reporters on Sunday.

A 17-year-old old boy died at the scene and five other people — a 13-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy, two 17-year-old boys and a woman in her 50s — were injured.

One has been released from hospital and the adult woman was upgraded to stable from critical condition, said McCord.

He said the suspects were dressed in dark clothing, some hiding their faces with balaclavas and that they made their way on foot to a parkette behind an apartment complex where a rap video was expected to be filmed.

McCord said the suspects then fired gunshots "indiscriminately " at around 6:20 p.m. before fleeing the scene.

"This was an ambush-type of attack," McCord said. "The intended targets appear to be a group preparing to film a rap video."

He said more than 100 shell casings have been recovered from the area so far and investigators continue to process the scene.

Another music video previously filmed at the location is believed to have motivated the attack, he said.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said she's "shocked and saddened" by the incident, which she called a "senseless act of gun violence."

"My heart goes out to the family of the innocent victim," Crombie told reporters.

Marjorie Judhan, who lives in the apartment complex, said she initially thought the gunfire was fire crackers, and she moved away from her balcony area as she heard several more shots.

"I moved off and I go to my kitchen in case, because you never know where the gun is pointing," she said in a phone interview Sunday, adding that she was even more concerned as kids usually play in the parkette.

The 73-year-old said she's been feeling uneasy since the incident and she didn't feel well enough to follow her Sunday morning routine.

"Usually I go to church but the way I'm feeling — I can't," she said.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2019