There was a mass shooting Sunday night in a Toronto neighborhood called Greektown. Two people were killed, one of them a child, and another 12 people were injured. The shooter is also dead, but authorities have not yet released his name or anything indicating a possible motive for the attack. So far they have only confirmed that he lived in Toronto. From the Washington Post:
An 18 year-old woman and a 10 year-old girl were killed, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters Monday, and victims range in age from 10 to 59 years old. The department is not yet releasing details on the two people killed, he said.
The motive for the shootings was not immediately clear, and the identity of the suspected gunman has not been made public. The department has not ruled any motivation out, including terrorism, Saunders said.
This video shows a second of the shooter walking down the street and turning to fire into a business:
Toronto police say 9 people shot and shooter is dead in city's #Greektown.
WATCH THE FIRST VIDEO pic.twitter.com/vY3eHlONLY
— APN NEWS (@apnnewsindia) July 23, 2018
I don’t see the shooter in this clip but you can hear several gunshots:
My evening was nice until I heard shooting right out of my place on the danforth. So scary!! The gun violence in Toronto is crazy. pic.twitter.com/eNHLlUlp6r
— n💫 (@nsxoxoii) July 23, 2018
Here’s one witnesses’ description of the shooter:
Witness to tonight’s shooting, who was inside Second Cup and saw the shooter pic.twitter.com/keec5lUXQQ
— Wendy Gillis (@wendygillis) July 23, 2018
Here’s another eyewitness who said it looked like the shooter was screaming as he fired. He couldn’t hear what, if anything, the shooter was saying because so many people around him were screaming in panic. He also notes the shooter seemed to be mostly shooting women.
Mayor John Tory made a statement this morning saying the problem was a lack of gun control. “Why does anyone in this city need to have a gun at all?” Tory asked.
Just three months ago, Alek Minassian drove a van drove down a sidewalk in Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring more than a dozen more. Minassian was apparently a fan of Elliot Rodger who killed people in Santa Barbara because he was upset he couldn’t find a girlfriend. So is the deceased shooter another violent incel or did he have another motive?
While we’re waiting for answers there’s also the question of whether the media should repeat the shooter’s name. Some of these guys are clearly motivated by the idea of becoming famous. Maybe the best way to prevent copycats is to make sure they remain unknown? I’m sympathetic to that argument but a news blackout could also add to a sense of infamy that these guys are often seeking.
Update: The suspect has been identified as Faisal Hussain. His family has put out a statement blaming “severe mental health challenges.”
The SIU has identified the suspect in Toronto's deadly mass shooting as 29-year-old Faisal Hussain. CBC News has obtained the following statement on behalf of his family, who say their "hearts are in pieces for the victims." https://t.co/sY95zL1mZ0 pic.twitter.com/oSWagNYXGv
— Shanifa Nasser (@shanifanasser) July 23, 2018
Join the conversation as a VIP Member