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Canada Shooting Leaves 13 Injured And Two Dead Including The Gunman

Canada Shooting Leaves 13 Injured And Two Dead Including The Gunman

The gunman opened fire in the middle of the street shooting innocent bystanders including a 'young lady' who was killed

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

One victim is dead and 13 others are injured after a gunman in Toronto opened fire in the middle of the street on Sunday evening.

The shooter is now also dead following what police called 'an exchange of gunfire'.

Toronto police said one innocent bystander, a 'young lady', was killed in the incident. And another girl of eight or nine years old has been left in a critical condition.

ABC News reported that the other 12 people are being treated in hospital after all being struck by gunfire.

PA

The shooting happened in Toronto's Greektown, which is often referred to as 'The Danforth'.

The incident began at around 10pm on Sunday evening. Police confirmed that they responded quickly and engaged in a shootout with the suspect, who used a handgun.

Toronto Police Chief, Mark Saunders, said: "I'm not calling it random. I don't know why he did what he did; he won't be able to tell us because he is deceased."

PA

Some residents took to social media with one posting a video on Twitter where at least five shots could be heard. The user tweeted: "So scary!! The gun violence in Toronto is crazy."

Saunders said he could not confirm whether the shooting was an incident of terrorism, but police were investigating all possibilities.

"I'm keeping everything open, I'm looking at every possible motive," he said. "I certainly don't want to speculate, too."

Toronto's mayor also spoke at a press conference overnight, reaffirming previous comments about Toronto's problems with gun violence.

Mayor John Tory.
PA

"We still live in a great city, but we have to be ever more vigilant about these kind of things," Mayor John Tory said.

He added: "This is a tragedy and on behalf of all Toronto residents, we are extending our prayers to all the innocent people attacked tonight, their families and their friends."

Witnesses described a man dressed in black, with a black hat, firing about 20 shots in the area.

According to The Toronto Star, paramedics said multiple people were taken to hospitals and trauma centres, including the young child who was transported to the Hospital for Sick Children.

PA

Jessica Young, an employee at Second Cup, said she saw the attacker: "I look to my side and see the shooter through the window. He sees me, or he sees my co-worker or someone, and points the gun and shoots through the window.

"He had light skin. I think he had short facial hair. That's all I could make out," Young said, adding that the suspect appeared to have a pistol or handgun.

"I was shaken, terrified, I guess. It's not every day you almost get shot," she said.

PA

A man who was 10 to 15 feet away from the alleged gunman spoke to CP24 saying: "He looked around 35, long hair, black hat. He had a dark shirt with long sleeves rolled up and black pants.

"He was skinny, but he had this horrible look in his face, like he was under the influence or something."

PA

And a woman working at Caffe Demetre said: "Everyone started yelling and crying. I ran towards the back and went to the basement."

She said that when she was cleared to come back up, she saw a little girl from the family she'd been serving lying on the ground.

"When I came upstairs I saw the little girl on the floor. Her mom was crying," she said.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Canada