‘UNTHINKABLE’ Friends, family shattered by the loss of ‘magnetic, whip smart’ 18-year-old Reese Fallon in Danforth shooting rampage
Last month, Reese Fallon graduated from Malvern Collegiate Institute with the admiration of teachers and friends, excited to start nursing school at McMaster University in the fall.
That bright future was extinguished on Sunday night, when the 18-year-old was killed in a shooting rampage on the Danforth that has left her family and friends mourning the loss of a “whip smart” young woman with a “magnetic” personality.
Another young victim, a 10-year-old girl who died, has not yet been identified. Thirteen people remain in hospital with injuries ranging from minor to critical.
In a tribute on Instagram, Fallon’s younger sister said she was “crushed” by the loss of her “lifelong best friend.”
“You had so much going for you. You are so smart, funny, kind, caring, beautiful and that’s why I know you are a perfect angel,” she wrote. “You were in the wrong place at the wrong time and you were the victim of this story.”
Fallon, who lived in leafy Beach neighbourhood, not far from Malvern, was “an engaging student” who was “highly regarded by staff and loved by her friends,” said John Malloy, director of education for the Toronto District School Board, in a statement on Monday.
Malloy said Malvern would be opened on Tuesday to provide support to students and staff, and that the flags at all TDSB buildings would be lowered to half-mast “in Reese’s memory.”
McMaster University president Patrick Deane said, “We are particularly saddened to learn that a young woman who was going to begin her studies at McMaster this fall was one of those who died in the attack.”
Fallon was a member of the Beaches—East York Young Lib- erals. Her family declined to speak with reporters, but Beaches—East York Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith issued a brief statement on their behalf.
“The family is devastated (and) asks that their privacy be respected at this time,” it said.
Erskine-Smith told the Star outside Fallon’s home that he knew her personally and she was “whip smart.” She “cared about making a difference in the world and this is a huge loss,” he said.
Julie Steel, whose husband taught Fallon at Malvern, set up a GoFundMe page on Monday to create a scholarship in her honour. The funds will go to a graduate of Malvern CI who is entering a nursing program.
Steel, a nurse herself, said Fallon, whom she described as “kind and caring,” would have been an “amazing nurse.”
“I could just see it in her … that was the career path for her,” Steel said in an interview. “Knowing that she’s not going to be able to do that has really broken our hearts.”
Steel set up the GoFundMe campaign with an initial goal of $5,000. Within three hours, it had raised nearly $3,000.
“Reese was just a wonderful, lovely girl,” Steel said. “For this to happen to her is just unthinkable. We just don’t even know how to process it.”
News of Fallon’s death travelled quickly on social media Monday, as friends and family members shared their messages of remembrance and grief.
“In absolute shock. Reese Fallon was such a great person and good friend,” Frank Hong, 16, wrote on Facebook. “She did not deserve to die this way.”
Hong, a fellow Young Liberal, said: “Reese just had a magnetic, bubbly, fun personality. She would always greet people with a big, fat hug. People would just want to be around her.”
The last time Sarah Lomon,14, saw Fallon was at the Pride parade in June.
“She was literally an amazing person. She was smart, she was funny, she was beautiful, she had so many friends,” Lomon, who was friends with Fallon’s younger sister, told the Star. “She had a bright future. She got into a good university. It’s just really hard to believe that she passed away when she had so much going for her.”
Witness Ali Demircan, who was sitting with friends on a bench near Logan and Danforth Aves. , told the Star he saw an injured woman during a break in the shooting.
Demircan said the woman, who was holding her arm where she appeared to have been shot, approached him and asked him to call 911, but the shooting started again before he could do so.
“When I turned back, there she was lying behind a small tree on Logan Ave. People were trying to help her and do CPR,” Demircan said. “It was terrible.”
The surviving victims range in age from 17 to 59, police said.
Three victims were taken to Sunnybrook hospital. Five were taken to St. Michael’s Hospital with injuries ranging from serious to critical. Three of the patients at St. Mike’s underwent “immediate, life-saving surgery,” said Dr. Najma Ahmed, acting head of the trauma surgical unit.
Michael Garron Hospital, formerly known as Toronto East General, confirmed staff treated seven people who were injured during the shooting. Five were released and two were in stable condition on Monday.
“Our hearts are heavy today as we try to comprehend the tragic events,” Dr. Paul Hannam, chief of emergency medicine, told journalists outside the hospital Monday afternoon. “Many of our friends, patients and colleagues not only work in this neighbourhood, but live in this area and frequent the restaurants and local shops with their families … This is our home.”
VICTIMS from A1