Police believe they know Eaton Centre shooter
Man killed in busy mall had gang ties; boy shot in head speaks to doctors
TORONTO – The investigation into a deadly shooting rampage that set off a mass panic at the Toronto Eaton Centre focused Sunday on the shooter behind the brazen attack, as police and local authorities reassured the public that Toronto remains a safe city.
Police confirmed that Saturday’s shooting at one of Canada’s busiest shopping malls — which killed one and injured seven others — was a targeted act.
Investigators said the man who was killed — identified as Ahmed Hassan, 24, of Toronto, had known gang ties. At least one of the victims may also have gang connections, police said, but they had yet to determine if the shooting was gang-related.
“It may be that both of them have gang affiliations, or it may be just the one of them, but we do believe that our deceased in this case may have had some gang affiliation,” said Det. Sgt. Brian Borg.
Police said they believe they know who the gunman was, but did not elaborate, saying they did not want to influence first-hand accounts still pouring in a day after the attack.
Investigators were reviewing security video in their hunt for the shooter and interviewing witnesses who were among the hundreds of people in the downtown shopping mall when the gunfire erupted, causing panicked shoppers to charge toward the exit in a wild pandemonium.
Seven people suffered either gunshot wounds or injuries in the stampede. The most seriously wounded is a 23-year-old man who suffered multiple gunshot injuries to his neck and chest. He remained in hospital in critical condition.
A 13-year-old boy who was visiting Toronto with his family suffered a gunshot wound to his head and remained in critical condition Sunday, though police said his injuries were no longer considered life-threatening.
The boy was speaking and responding well to treatment, they said.
Three other people suffered less serious gunshot wounds and were released from hospital.
A 28-year-old pregnant woman who was trampled as people rushed the exits was recovering in hospital, Borg said.
“That woman and her unborn child, I’m glad to say are doing well,” he said.
Calling the shooting “disturbing” and “upsetting,” Toronto Mayor Rob Ford called for those responsible to be apprehended, but also asked the public to not be deterred by the incident.
“This is a safe city and I want people to continue doing what they do every day: go out with their families, go shopping, have fun with their families.”
Acting Deputy Chief Jeff McGuire also defended Toronto’s reputation as a safe city.
“One idiot with a gun on a Saturday afternoon in downtown Toronto does not speak to the state of the city … please do not gauge the city on what we saw yesterday,” McGuire told a news conference.
Roughly 10 seconds before the shots rang out, Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie and a buddy were walking through the basement food court. Then, just after they ascended the stairs to the next level, the shots rang out.
At about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Lawrie and his friend were wandering through the mall on their way to the Future Shop store across Yonge Street.
“As soon as we were going up the first flight of stairs we heard just like, ‘bang, bang, bang, bang, bang,’ as fast as you could pull the trigger,” Lawrie said before his team took batting practice at the Rogers Centre on Sunday morning. “We kind of were skeptical on what we heard. Sure enough, we turn around and there’s a bunch of people running up the stairs.”
The sudden stampede of shoppers and the terrified looks on their faces left no doubt in Lawrie’s mind about what to do next. He and his buddy bolted. “It was instant panic,” he said. “It was almost like if you stepped on an ant hill and then everyone just flooded right out of the whole place. It was kind of one of those things where you almost think, ‘Was it real or was it not?’ ”
The reality set in quickly as police and emergency personnel flocked to the Eaton Centre as Lawrie and his friend watched from the safety of Future Shop.
Ultimately, he was shocked to learn that the gunfire from a lone shooter had killed one person and injured seven others.
“I kind of did get lucky because we were right down there 10 seconds before. You don’t know what could’ve happened,” said the baseball star from Langley, B.C.
Lawrie was also among the first to break the news on Twitter. More than 128,000 follow his @blawrie13 feed.