What started as a call about a concerning message ended with a man found suffering from a gunshot wound in a vehicle that fled police and crashed in Scarborough early Friday, Toronto police say.

Insp. Brian Maslowski said police initially got a call from an individual who reported a concerning message they received from a friend.

The message contained a photo threatening the victim with a firearm, Maslowski said, adding that police were able to obtain a description of the vehicle.

Police tried to stop the vehicle in the area of Bellamy Road N. and Lawrence Avenue E. when it fled and then crashed in the area of Midland Avenue and McNicoll Avenue.

When police got to the vehicle, they found a man in his early 20s who had been shot, along with two suspects aged 17 and 19.

Maslowski did not comment on the relationship between the victim and the teenage suspects, or whether the episode could have been an attempted abduction.

“As you can imagine, it is a complex investigation, so I can’t share much,” Maslowski said.

The victim was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, along with the two suspects and another driver who was involved in the crash. That driver and the two suspects had minor injuries, Maslowski said.

Police said they also recovered two firearms from the vehicle.

Police say the vehicle crashed in the area of Midland Avenue and McNicoll Avenue as the suspects tried to flee. (CBC)

A spokesperson for Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit told CBC Toronto they have been notified of the incident but will not be invoking their mandate.

The SIU is an independent agency that investigates police conduct in incidents that results in death, serious injury, the discharge of a firearm or allegations of sexual assault.