Two people have been killed and 12 others wounded, one of them critically, by a gunman who opened fire on a busy avenue in Canada’s largest city.
One of the dead was a young woman, while the person critically injured in the attack in the Greektown district of Toronto is a girl of eight or nine.
The suspect, 29, had “an exchange of gunfire” with police officers before being found dead nearby, police said.
The motive for the shooting is unclear. Police have not identified the suspect.
The attack erupted on Sunday evening. In a video clip shared by Canadian media, a white man wearing a dark cap and dark clothing and carrying a shoulder bag can be seen stopping on a pavement and pulling out a handgun before firing shots.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent his sympathies to the victims and the city in a tweet, while Toronto Mayor John Tory condemned the “despicable” attack on “people innocently enjoying a Sunday evening”.
Emergency services were called out just after 22:00 (02:00 GMT Monday). The site of the attack is a piazza with a fountain that is popular with local people and was busy at the time, the Toronto Globe and Mail writes.
A number of people were reportedly hurt in a cafe called the Demetres, while others were hit in the street.
One victim’s death was reported soon after the attack, with the second death announced on Monday morning.
According to police, the gunman was found on Bowden Street, a short distance from the cafe. “An exchange of gunfire” then took place, before the man fled once more.
He was found dead on Danforth Avenue. (Excerpts from BBC)
