Fourteen people were shot by a gunman in Toronto’s Greektown restaurant area on Sunday night. He was dressed all in black – pants, shirt, jacket, hat – and armed with a handgun.
The shooter began his spree by walking along the sidewalk and firing at pedestrians. The Globe and Mail interviewed a witness, Andrew Mantzios:
“And then a lady tried to run and she fell down,” Mr. Mantzios recalled. “He turned around and shot her point blank, two or three times.”
As he and others in the square scrambled to the ground, Mr. Mantzios watched as the man crisscrossed along Danforth, shooting into businesses. He said a friend of his saw the man change the clip of his weapon.
People were “falling all over the place – maybe seven, eight, nine of them,” he said. But hours later, he was still horrified by the image of the woman by the square being “executed.”
Toronto, Canada Mass Shooting
*14 victims shot
*Suspect shooter: dead
*Weapon used: handgun
*1 female adult has died
*1 young girl in critical condition@TorontoPolice have given these numbers:
*Witnesses call 416-808-2222 *Anonymous tips 1-800-222-8477
pic.twitter.com/XLHm9AfeaJ— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) July 23, 2018
By the end of the spree, fourteen had been shot. The gunman fled, only to have his body found in a nearby alley with a gunshot wound; it is undetermined whether he committed suicide or was shot by police.
One of the victims was declared dead after paramedics arrived. Another died overnight. Initial reports focused on a young girl, seven or eight, who was in critical condition; the second victim fatality has not yet been identified, but it was likely the child.
Police have identified the shooter as a 29 year old male, but have not provided the name. They have refused to rule out terrorism, but they have said they do not believe it is related to gang violence, which has been the stated reason for most of the city’s shootings.
