Toronto police deny shooter linked to ISIL

NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT CLAIM

There’s no evidence to support a claim from the Islamic State terror group that it was behind a deadly shooting spree in Toronto, the city’s police chief said Wednesday as the federal government reiterated that there was no national security connection to the gunman.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said his force was investigating Sunday’s violence from every angle and had found nothing to indicate a connection to the group commonly known as ISIL.

A post on one of the group’s social media channels claimed one of its “soldiers” wielded the gun that killed two and injured 13 on a busy stretch of Danforth Avenue. ISIL claimed the attack was in response to its calls to target citizens of the U.S-led coalition battling it. The claim was repeated by a security member of the group speaking to its Amaq news agency.

Saunders, however, issued a sharp denial.

“At this stage, we have no evidence to support these claims,” he said in a statement, adding that Toronto police would continue to “explore every investigative avenue” in its probe, which includes examining how the shooter obtained a gun.

A spokeswoman for federal public safety minister Ralph Goodale echoed Saunders’ assertions, saying currently “there is no national security nexus” to the man behind the attack.