A gunman opened fire on a Toronto, Canada apartment building, killing five people.
Sunday at 19:20 (12:20 GMT), police reacted to reports of a gunshot at a building in Vaughan, approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Toronto, and shot and killed the suspect at the scene.
Another injured individual has been transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Authorities are probing the motivation, as well as any possible relationships between the shooter and the victims.
Jim MacSween, the police chief of York, stated that responding officers were confronted with a “horrific scene” in which multiple deceased victims were discovered in various apartments in the building.
“We are currently in the process of notifying the victims’ families, therefore at this time I am unable to discuss the victims or the matter,” he added.
In a news release, the Special Investigations Unit of Ontario, which investigates police-involved deaths in the region, identified the deceased as a 73-year-old man.
Mr. MacSween stated that there was no ongoing threat to the public, and police in York stated that individuals who were evacuated could return home.
Stephen Del Duca, the mayor of Vaughan, tweeted his condolences to the victims’ families.
“I would like to commend the courageous first responders who are working to stabilize the situation,” he continued.
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, expressed his condolences on Twitter, adding that he was “shocked and horrified” to hear of the incident.
Mr. Ford stated, “Ontario is thinking about the victims of this senseless violence and their mourning relatives and friends.”
While Canada has fewer major shootings than the United States, a recent rise in gun crime has prompted the country to outlaw handguns.
After a gunman posing as a police officer killed 22 people in Nova Scotia in May 2020, Canada outlawed 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style rifles.
