A shooting marred the festive atmosphere along the route of Toronto's Caribbean festival parade Saturday, shortly after the massive street celebration had wrapped up.

There are reports one person died and two others, including a bystander, were injured in the incident.

The Police Special Investigations Unit, which examines incidents where police actions result in death or serious injury, has also been called.

Toronto Police told CTVNews.ca that the shooting happened in a parking lot along the parade route about an hour after the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Festival parade ended, but did not comment any further.

Despite starting three hours late, the parade had otherwise gone off without a hitch.

An estimated 18,000 dancers were joined by more than a dozen bands on the 3.5-kilometre parade route from the CNE grounds to Lake Shore Boulevard along the city's waterfront.

"This parade provides an opportunity to celebrate all things Caribbean," Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said in a speech at the ribbon-cutting ceremony that launched the day's official events earlier Saturday.

The day is a "beautiful expression of Toronto's multiculturalism," Ford said.

For the thousands who take part in the parade, the day is also about impressing the crowd of approximately one million people along the route with a bedazzling array of feathery, glittery costumes. Not to mention the favour of the judges tasked with picking the winners of such sought-after titles such as 'band of the year.'

"To be band of the year means you have the best group of people that show of your colours, your culture, said participant Xavier Deguzman, who wore a sparkling red headpiece encrusted with jewels and topped with feathers.

Adorned in a costume of pink and purple feathers with white beading, Amanda Redhead described the day as a time to have fun.

"It's just a time to free up yourself and have no worries and listen to music and you just get on by, that's what you do," she said.

The annual celebration known in previous years as Caribana is the largest event of its kind in North America, attracting tourists from around the world. The event is believed to inject more than $250 million into the local economy.

The festivities have been marred by violence in the past, however, including the death of a Montreal visitor in town for the weekend-long party in 2009.

With files from CTV News and The Canadian Press