The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2 dead, 13 wounded in shootings in Toronto
Man shot into cafes while walking on sidewalk outside.
TORONTO — A man clad in black fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in a lively Toronto neighborhood, killing a 10-yearold girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounding 13 others in an attack that has shaken the confidence of many in the normally safe city.
Authorities identified the suspect as Faisal Hussain, 29, of Toronto, who died after an exchange of gunfire with police. It was not immediately clear whether he killed himself or was killed by police.
The mass shooting late Sunday in Toronto’s Greek- town district came just three months after a van struck and killed 10 people in an apparent attack directed toward women.
Police Chief Mark Saun- ders said he would not spec- ulate on a motive but did not rule out terrorism.
“It’s almost inconceivable that these things can happen,” said Mayor John Tory. “We were so used to living in a city where these things didn’t happen and as we saw them going on in the world around us (we) thought they couldn’t happen here.”
“This is an attack against innocent families and our entire city.”
The slain 18-year-old was identified as Reese Fallon, a recent high school graduate who volunteered for Canada’s Liberal party and was due to attend McMaster University in the fall. Her fam- ily said in a statement they were devastated.
“She was ... smart, passionate and full of energy. It is a huge loss,” said Cana- dian Member of Parliament Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who knew Fallon.
Flags at Toronto City Hall as well as at Fallon’s former high school, Malvern CI, and at school board buildings were lowered to half-staff.
The 13 wounded ranged in age from 10 to 59, and suffered injuries ranging from serious to minor, Saun- ders said.
Dr. Najma Ahmed of St. Michael’s Hospital said five patients had been admitted in serious or critical condi- tion and that three of the five underwent immediate lifesaving operations.
A video taken by a witness showed a man dressed all in black walking quickly down a sidewalk and firing three shots into at least one shop or restaurant in Toronto’s Greektown, a residen- tial area crowded with Greek restaurants and cafes.
Witnesses heard many shots and described the suspect walking past restaurants and cafes and patios on both sides of the street and firing into them.
Ontario’s police watchdog said there was an exchange of gunfire between the assail- ant and two officers on a side street before the gun- man was found dead near Danforth Avenue where the shootings occurred.
A spokeswoman for the Special Investigations Unit, Monica Hudon, said an autopsy would be performed Tuesday on the suspect.
Det.-Sgt. Terry Browne said police had sought a search warrant for an address related to the suspect but didn’t say where.
Though mass shootings are rare in Canada’s larg- est city, Toronto police had deployed dozens of addi- tional officers over the weekend to deal with a recent rise in gun violence in the city, which has seen 23 gun homicides so far this year, compared to 16 fatal shoot- ings in the first half of 2017.
Toronto Councilor Paula Fletcher said the attack was “not gang related” and that the gunman shot “indiscrim- inately” into restaurants and into a park.
“I know we always say, ‘That can’t happen here,’ when we see those gunmen in the States doing the same thing and it has happened here now,” Fletcher said.