According to the local US media, police said they are looking for a white sedan involved in a vehicle pursuit following the incident.

Officers heard gunfire in the area of the building near University Avenue and Armoury Street around 4:45 a.m. and found evidence of a firearm discharge outside the U.S. Consulate, Toronto police told reporters on the scene in an update just before noon.

A white Honda Accord with no license plates was seen fleeing the scene, Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said, and police briefly pursued it before disengaging on the Don Valley Parkway near Don Mills Road due to safety concerns over the high rate of speed.

Police could not determine how many people were in the vehicle and it was too early to determine motive, he said.

“We will approach this situation with great seriousness,” Barredo said. “We will bring the people responsible for this to justice.”

Police said a single shell casing was found near the U.S. Consulate, and the building sustained damage.

A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy said in an email that there were no injuries.

The area around the consulate is now taped off, with part of University Avenue closed at Dundas Street to southbound traffic and pedestrians. More than a dozen police vehicles are on site, including a forensics vehicle.

The incident comes just over four months after the building was shot at on March 10. No one was injured in that shooting, but RCMP called it a “national security incident” at the time.

Toronto police have stationed officers near the U.S. Consulate in the months following the incident.

Multiple people were later arrested in connection with that shooting as part of a broad investigation into shootings around the city in which police believe young people were hired to commit gun crimes.

DID