Gunman kills two in street rampage
A MAN has killed two people, said to be a woman, 18, and child aged 10, and left 12 others injured after he fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in Toronto, before dying in a gunfight with police.
Police chief Mark Saunders did not rule out terrorism as a motive after the incident in Greektown, though officials did not immediately identify the attacker.
Five of the 14 people shot by the 29-year-old gunman are in a serious or critical, but stable, condition.
St Michael’s Hospital trauma surgeon Dr Najma Ahmed said three of those people who were wounded underwent immediate operations to save their lives.
Video footage shot by one witness shows a man dressed in black clothes and a black hat walking quickly and firing three shots from the pavement into at least one shop or restaurant in Toronto’s Greektown, a lively residential area with crowded Greek restaurants and cafes.
Witnesses heard many shots and described the suspect opening fire as he walked past restaurants, cafes and patios on both sides of the street.
John Tulloch said he and his brother had just gotten out of their car when he heard about 20 to 30 gunshots.
He said: “We just ran. We saw people starting to run so we just ran.”
Police, paramedics and other first responders quickly arrived on the scene, while people, some in their pyjamas, emerged from their homes to see what was happening.
Toronto councillor Paula Fletcher said of the incident: “It’s not gang-related. It looks like someone who is very disturbed.”
Mass shootings are rare in Canada’s largest city.
Toronto Mayor John Tory said: “We were so use to living in a city where these things didn’t happen.
“But there are things that happen nowadays and they are just unspeakable.”
This past weekend, Toronto police deployed dozens of additional officers to deal with a recent spike in gun violence in the city.
“Guns are too readily available to too many people,” Mr Tory said.
The mass shooting comes a few months after a driver of a van ploughed into pedestrians on a Toronto pavement, killing 10 people and injuring 14.
Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the van killings. But they have said the arrested driver, Alek Minassian, posted a message on social media referencing an online community known for extreme women-hating views prior to the attack.