Gunman kills 5 in 'horrendous' condo rampage outside Toronto, gets put down by police
Six people are dead and a seventh is badly wounded after a 73-year-old man opened fire in a condominium building north of Toronto Sunday evening. Police restored order and sent the shooter out in a body bag.
The suspect reportedly targeted condo board members with whom he had a legal dispute, reported the Ottawa Sun.
What are the details?
The shooting took place just before 7:30 p.m. in the city of Vaughan, north of Toronto.
A 73-year-old man began his rampage at a condominium building located near Jane Street and Rutherford Road, according to police.
An individual whom social media users are claiming was the shooter was reportedly embroiled in a legal battle with the building's condo board. The 73-year-old long complained on Facebook of chest infections, suggesting that the condo air quality was to blame.
A video allegedly posted by the suspect to social media shows him accusing members of the condo board of injustice, saying, "So I did not have to do this if you would have give me some comfort in my home."
The New York Post indicated the suspect interrupted a board meeting with gunfire, killing five and shooting one woman in the face.
A sixth victim was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.
York Regional Police officers stormed the building and encountered the shooter upon their arrival.
YRP duty inspector Constable Laura Nicolle stated, "An interaction occurred between the suspect and our officers and the suspect is now deceased."
Police later indicated that the interaction consisted of an officer dropping the armed suspect with a well-placed gunshot.
As part of their response effort, police evacuated the building and cleared every floor for possible threats and additional victims. It wasn't until after 1:15 a.m. that residents were permitted to return.
According to YRP, a specials investigations unit was dispatched to what Chief Jim MacSween characterized as a "horrendous scene."
"We offer our sincere condolences to the victims and their families," said MacSween.
Constable Laura Nicolle told CNN that the grisly aftermath was the "most terrible call I've seen in my entire career."
One resident told CityNews, "We wouldn’t imagine seeing that in our buildings, right, but nowadays you see everything."
\u201cFive killed in Toronto shooting: police\n\nYork Regional Police say 5 people have been killed in a #shooting tonight at a condo building in Vaughan, Ontario, north of #Toronto \n#Canada\u201d— Chaudhary Parvez (@Chaudhary Parvez) 1671429607
Canada has seen a 12-year upward trend in firearm-related violent crime despite the stringent gun control measures imposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's liberal government on law-abiding citizens.
According to Toronto police, 85% of the guns used in crimes in the city were illegally smuggled into Canada from the United States — weapons Trudeau's bans are unlikely to impact.
Although the guns used in the supermajority of crimes are illegally sourced, Trudeau banned the sale, purchase, or transfer of handguns in October.
\u201cSix killed including gunman after active shooting at condo building in Canada's Vaughan\n\n#Vaughan #Canada\u201d— RuptlyNews (@RuptlyNews) 1671446558