TORONTO (AP) – A man shot 14 people, killing one of them, in a lively Toronto neighborhood before dying after an exchange of gunfire with police late Sunday, police said.
Police Chief Mark Saunders said the shooting in the city’s Greektown neighborhood was not random and he did not rule out terrorism as a motive.
“Other than the shooter we have a young lady that is deceased,” the police chief said.
Saunders also said a 9-year-old was in critical condition.
He said the suspect used a handgun.
A video from one witness shows a man dressed in black clothes and a black hat walking quickly and firing three shots from the sidewalk into at least one shop or restaurant. Toronto’s Greektown is a lively residential area with crowded Greek restaurants and cafes.
The condition of the other victims was not known yet, police spokesman Mark Pugash said.
John Tulloch said he and his brother had just gotten out of their car when he heard about 20 to 30 gunshots.
“We just ran. We saw people starting to run so we just ran,” he said.
An army of police, paramedics and other first responders soon descended on the scene, while area residents, some in their pajamas,
emerged from their homes to see what was happening.
Toronto Councilor Paula Fletcher told CP24 she heard that the gunman was emotionally disturbed.
“It’s not gang related. It looks like someone who is very disturbed,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher said for this to happen in an area where families gather for dinner is a tragedy.
Mass shootings are rare in Canada’s largest city.
“We were so use to living in a city where these things didn’t happen,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said. “But there are things that happen nowadays and they are just unspeakable.”
“Guns are too readily available to too many people,” Tory said.
