Five dead, suspect killed in Toronto area shooting

Five people have been killed and another wounded in a shooting in the suburbs of the Canadian city of Toronto.

The suspect also died on Sunday after an exchange of fire with law enforcement officers, Police Chief Jim MacSween told reporters, saying the shooting took place in an apartment building.

The wounded person was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police were called to the site Sunday evening.

“Once the officers arrived they were met with … a horrendous scene where numerous victims were deceased,” MacSween told reporters.

Police are investigating the motive and whether there was a connection between the victims and the male suspect, who has not been named. The suspect allegedly acted alone.

The victims were found in different apartments in the building, which is located in Vaughan, in the suburbs about 30km (20 miles) north of Toronto.

Residents were evacuated immediately and dozens of ambulances and police officers were at the scene.

Canada has experienced a surge in gun violence, which has prompted it to recently legislate to ban handguns.

In April 2020, a gunman disguised as a policeman killed 22 people in the eastern province of Nova Scotia, Canada’s worst mass shooting.

In September this year, a man stabbed 11 people to death and wounded 18 others, mainly in an isolated Indigenous community in Saskatchewan province.

Firearms-related violent crimes account for less than 3 percent of all violent crimes in Canada – but since 2009, the per capita rate of guns being fired with intent to kill or wound has increased five-fold.

Canada banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms in May 2020, days after the Nova Scotia shooting.