2018 Toronto shooting explained

2018 Toronto shooting
Location:Greektown, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Target:Pedestrians
Coordinates:43.6778°N -79.3517°W
Date:July 22, 2018
Time:10 p.m.
Type:Mass shooting
Fatalities:3 (including the perpetrator)
Injuries:13
Perp:Faisal Hussain[1]
Susperp:-->
Weapons:.40-caliber Smith & Wesson M&P semi-automatic pistol[2] [3]
Numpart:-->
Dfen:-->
Motive:Undetermined[4]

A mass shooting occurred on Danforth Avenue in the Greektown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the night of July 22, 2018.[5] Faisal Hussain killed two people and wounded thirteen using a Smith & Wesson M&P .40-calibre handgun.[3] [1] He died by suicide after a shootout with Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers.[6] Despite a year long investigation, authorities were unable to determine a motive for the shooting. They noted that Hussain had mental health issues and a long time obsession with violence.[7]

Shooting

Around 10:00 p.m. EDT on July 22, 2018, Faisal Hussain walked along Toronto's busy Danforth Avenue in the Greektown area of the city, randomly shooting pedestrians before opening fire on crowded restaurants.[8] [9] [10] The incident began around Danforth and Logan Avenues near Christina's restaurant. Witnesses described 10 to 15 blasts similar to firecrackers, while others reported hearing gunshots and seeing a man holding a gun.[11] Further along the Danforth at Chester Avenue, witnesses said they saw a man shooting from a sidewalk into another restaurant named Demetre's. The shooter continued to walk westbound on Danforth Avenue towards Hampton Avenue, where witnesses said the shooter crossed the street from the north side to the south side and fired into the 7Numbers restaurant near Bowden Street where one victim was shot.[12] The shooter chose not to shoot certain people he encountered, telling one man, "Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you."[13] TPS officers responded to calls from witnesses and located the gunman on Bowden Street and initiated a shootout with the suspect. The gunman ran back to Danforth Avenue where he was found dead.

At the corner of Danforth and Logan avenues, police cordoned off an area from bystanders and detonated an unidentified package for undisclosed reasons.

Notes and References

  1. News: Faisal Hussain ID'd as gunman in deadly Danforth shooting attack.
  2. News: Warmington . Joe . Danforth shooter was 'armed for war,' sources say . Toronto Sun . 7 August 2018. 25 July 2018 .
  3. News: Danforth shooting: SIU says 'no basis' to lay charges against Toronto police in gunman's death . January 16, 2019 . Global News . January 16, 2019.
  4. News: 'We may never know why': Danforth shooter fascinated by death, but motive still unclear. CBC News. 2019-06-21.
  5. News: Toronto shooting: Gunman kills woman and child in Greektown . July 23, 2018 . BBC . July 23, 2018.
  6. News: Faisal Hussain, gunman in Danforth shooting rampage, killed himself: police source . . 25 July 2018 . 25 July 2018.
  7. Web site: Toronto Danforth mass shooter's long dark obsession with death, violence and 'incel' ideology . 2023-03-24 . nationalpost . en-CA.
  8. Web site: Toronto shooting: woman and gunman dead, 13 others injured in Danforth Avenue attack. Lyons . Kate . July 23, 2018. The Guardian . July 23, 2018.
  9. News: Toronto mass shooting: 14 hit, 1 dead, as gunman opens fire Sunday night. Shooter killed . Swenson . Kyle . July 23, 2018 . The Washington Post . July 23, 2018.
  10. News: 10-year-old girl, 18-year-old woman killed in Toronto mass shooting . . July 23, 2018 . July 23, 2018.
  11. Web site: 'There's a man with a gun!' Chaos descends upon the Danforth. Toronto Star. July 23, 2018 . January 10, 2019.
  12. News: Woman and girl dead, 13 other people injured in Danforth shooting in Toronto . . July 22, 2018 . July 23, 2018.
  13. News: Toronto police search for clues to killer's path. February 13, 2019. The Globe and Mail. July 24, 2018 .