Danforth gunman had no ‘national security connection’

OTTAWA — The shooter in Sunday’s rampage in Toronto does not appear to have been on the radar of either federal national security agencies or provincial law enforcement.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters there’s no “national security connection” to Faisal Hussain, the 29-year old accused of killing two people and injuring 13 others.

“At this stage of the investigation, on the basis of everything that is known at the moment, there is no national security connection between this individual and any other national security issue,” Goodale said Tuesday morning.

“There is no nexus there that we are aware of at this time.”

A senior member of the Ontario Provincial Police, who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity, likewise said Hussain was not known to that force.

The motive of Sunday night’s mass shooting is not known, and Hussain died after the attack — police sources said he took his own life at the scene.

A statement from Hussain’s family said the Toronto man struggled with “severe mental health challenges” like “psychosis and depression.”

When pressed for more details, Goodale said the investigation was in the hands of the Toronto police, but added federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies have offered their assistance.

On Monday, Toronto Mayor John Tory floated the idea of banning handguns in the City of Toronto. The federal Liberals have been considering a handgun ban for some time, Goodale said, but emphasized such a measure would be immensely complex.

“That would require significant remodelling of the criminal code,” Goodale said of the idea of banning handguns, noting gun control advocates had previously requested such a ban.

“It is a complex proposition because it would entail substantial rewriting of the criminal code. But in response to people who were making representations earlier this year, people who were connected with the tragedy at the mosque in (Quebec City), they made certain arguments. I said I would take them into consideration and examine them carefully. And we are in the process of doing that.”

Goodale offered no timeline for the government to come down on the issue, however.

Former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, who met with Premier Doug Ford, Tory, and Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders on Monday, said there is “significant” federal funding already committed to fight gun violence.

Blair, who was named the minister responsible for border security and organized crime reduction — a portfolio that, as of yet, remains largely undefined — said the Toronto response for more police patrols this summer was “responsible.”