Six killed, including suspect, in shooting near Toronto

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Dec 2022 17:48
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The victims were located in differents units of the residential building located in Vaughan.

Crime scene at the condo (via Twitter (@Media371))

Police authorities in Canada's region of York told reporters on Sunday that six people were killed, including the 73-year-old suspect, and one person was severely injured in a mass shooting at a residential building in the city of Vaughan.

Local police chief Jim MacSween said the suspect died after he was shot by law enforcers in an exchange of fire.

As for the wounded individual, they were rushed to the hospital in "serious condition", but their life was not in danger.

On late Sunday, police arrived at approximately 7:20 pm (0020 GMT) local time and were met with "a horrendous scene where numerous victims were deceased," MacSween told reporters.

"They (police) went right into the building and dealt with the situation. One of our officers did discharge a firearm, I can confirm that. And as a result the suspect is deceased," he added.

According to reports, the 73-year-old suspect allegedly acted alone in what is described as a shooting spree.

The victims were located in differents units of the residential building located in Vaughan, 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Toronto.

The remaining residents were immediately evacuated from the building as emergency services arrived to address the scene up until Monday morning.

While incidents of this sort are not frequent in Canada, there has recently been an upsurge in gun violence, which has prompted a recent legislation to ban handguns.

Since 2009, the per capita rate of guns being fired with intent to kill or injure has increased fivefold.

In 2020, Canada banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms following the Nova Scotia shooting in which a gunman disguised as a police officer killed 22 people.

As Parliament is attempting to add more items to its list of banned weapons, some pressure has been exerted by hunters and sports shooters to push back the legislation.