Killings recall 2010 murder inside library

THE AREA IS UNUSUAL FOR ITS SUBURBAN PEACEFULNESS.

Two doors down, Herbert Kolmegies wondered how anyone could reload a crossbow fast enough to kill three people. Specific details of the victims’ injuries are not known, though police did confirm a crossbow was found, and the victims appear to have been injured by a crossbow bolt. The incident was initially reported as a stabbing.

Paramedics were dispatched at 12:57 p.m. in response to “multiple traumas.” Three adults, two men and a woman, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Evert Steege, deputy commander at Toronto Paramedic Services.

Property records indicate the house is owned by William and Susan Ryan, who purchased it in 2010, and discharged a mortgage last year. William Ryan is reported to have died last year, around the same time the property was transferred to Susan.

One resident, who did not wish to be identified, said the area is unusual for its suburban peacefulness, given how close it is to some of Toronto’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

The use of a crossbow was particularly striking, and the unusual weapon made news in Europe and America, as well as across Canada. In Toronto, it recalled the 2010 murder of Si (William) Cheng, whose son followed him to an east-end library, shot him through the heart with a crossbow as the patrons scattered in panic, then crushed his skull with a hammer. His son, Zhou (Peter) Fang, was sentenced to life for second-degree murder.

Crossbows are typically made of aluminum and plastic, while the arrows — or bolts — are typically carbon fibre or aluminum with an average length of 50 centimetres. Their average shooting distance is 55 metres, according to Chris Kelly, owner of Kelly’s Sporting Goods in Inwood, Ont. People typically buy them for deer hunting, he said.

The only restriction on buying full-sized crossbows in the province is that you must be at least 18 years old. Smaller, hand-held crossbows are prohibited.

Kelly estimated it takes an average of 15 to 20 seconds for someone to fire, reload and then re-cock, though someone who is very proficient could bring it down to 10 seconds. It takes some “muscle and effort,” about 150 to 175 pounds of draw weight, to re-cock a bow, he said.

Police said no other suspects are being sought.