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TORONTO – Two people were killed and 13 others were injured after a man with a gun opened fire on a busy Toronto street Sunday night, police said. The suspect was found dead later.
The police confronted the suspect, who was only identified as a 29-year-old man, in a nearby street and exchanged fire with him, the authorities said. The suspect fled the police and was found dead with a gunshot wound on a street.
John Tory, the mayor of Toronto, said at a town council meeting Monday that the shooting was a "cowardly act of violence" and "an attack on our city itself."
"I said for a while that the city had a gun problem," he said. "Firearms are too easily accessible to far too many people."
Those killed were an 18-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl, Chief Mark Saunders of the Toronto Police Service said Monday. midday. Thirteen people, aged 10 to 59, were treated in a hospital on Monday, the chief said, and their injuries ranged from minor to severe
"We do not know why this happened," Chief Saunders told reporters. A press conference
Authorities launched a public call for help to identify a motive in the shooting, which began on Danforth Avenue, and the chief said he Did not exclude terrorism. The Ministry's Special Investigations Unit, which reviews shootings involving the police, was also investigating the matter.
"When you have so many people who are affected by shooting, it's a serious concern," said Chief Saunders. "I do not close any doors."
Mayor Tory called for a review of Canadian firearms laws, which are much more restrictive than those in the United States.
have heard asking questions as to why someone would need to buy 10 or 20 guns, which he can legally do under current laws, "he said. "And that brings up another question that we need to discuss: Why does someone in this city need a weapon?"
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday morning that "his thoughts are going to everyone affected by the terrible tragedy." the Danforth last night in Toronto. "
" The people of Toronto are strong, resilient, and courageous – and we will be there to support you in this difficult time, "Trudeau said on Twitter
Police were called at the corner of Danforth and Logan avenues, in the Greektown neighborhood, around 10 pm On Sunday, Mark Pugash, a spokesman for the police, said:
Andreas Papadopoulos, a bartender at the Greek restaurant Mezes, said that the staff initially thought that there were fireworks, but a colleague who went outside to investigate was quickly caught in fire, and another colleague who brought the person back to fire. Inside, said Mr. Papadopoulos, was shot in the hand and was taken to the hospital.
"There was a lot of unrest," did he say? he said in an interview, "There is a lot of blood here."
The restaurants along the avenue were closed after the mbad shooting.
"The world is definitely in motion, and I do not care where you live, you're not safe," said John Klianis, who was working at Pappas Grill when he heard gunshots.
The Toronto band known locally as Danforth is the heart of one of the most coveted residential enclaves in the city. Once filled with Greek immigrants, it has become the privileged neighborhood of hipsters and young families, who spend more than a million dollars in small houses to see the city center and parks, shops, bars and restaurants.
The street pulsates with more than a million people during Taste of the Danforth, a festival of food, music and dance that is held every year in August.
Armed violence is much rarer in Canada than in the United States. . But the number of shots in Toronto has doubled in recent years, according to data from the Toronto Police Service. The city recorded 177 shootings in 2014 and 395 in 2017, and is expected to break this bar this year
In April, 10 people were killed in Toronto when the driver of a rental van hit dozens of pedestrians on a sidewalk. The man accused of driving the van had posted a hostile message to women online a few moments before the start of the fight, according to the police
Last year, Canada was shaken by a shootout in a Quebec mosque that left six dead and eight others injured in what Mr. Trudeau quickly described as a "terrorist attack against Muslims".
"It is almost inconceivable that these things can happen," said Mayor Tory. "It's a tragedy in the way you look at it."
Catherine Porter did a report from Toronto and Sarah Mervosh and Matt Stevens from New York. Jason M. Bailey and Matthew Haag contributed to New York reporting.
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