Toronto police investigating exchange during pro-Palestinian protest inside Eaton Centre

Toronto police say they are investigating an interaction between a demonstrator and another citizen during a pro-Palestinian protest inside the Eaton Centre on Sunday evening.

Video of the protest circulating online shows a crush of protesters chanting in front of the entrance to fashion retailer Zara.

In the video, some protesters with dark masks covering their faces appear embroiled in a verbal back-and-forth with another party at the mall. In the video, one protester says to someone “I’ll lay you out on the floor” and threatens to put someone “six feet deep.”

The other side of the exchange cannot be heard.

While a number of officers are present in the video, Toronto police said in a statement that they were not threatened themselves.

“We can confirm that a demonstrator and another citizen who was at the mall exchanged words, which you see in a video that’s circulating, and officers were keeping them apart,” Toronto police said. “At no time were officers threatened, and we are investigating this incident.”

TPS said officers used their training to de-escalate the situation, which unfolded as throngs of shoppers flocked to the busy mall to buy presents ahead of Christmas.

Last week, Zara pulled advertising images for a new line of jackets that some claimed referenced the Israel-Hamas war. It also issued an apology in which it explained that the campaign was conceived and photographed prior to the onset of the war.  

However, since then there have been a number of protests outside storefronts for the Spanish fashion brand in Toronto and elsewhere.

“During a situation like this, when tensions are high and there are large crowds of people, including the general public, officers must use their best judgment at the time, taking everyone’s safety into consideration,” police said in their statement on Monday, noting that approximately 150 demonstrators entered the mall.

 Loud demonstrations around the Israel-Hamas war have been a regular feature in the city for weeks, with some targeting local businesses that are Jewish-owned or which have an affiliation with Israel.