A gunman has opened fire at a busy Toronto restaurant strip, injuring at least 14 people including a young girl before being shot dead. Some media report that one woman has been killed in the attack, although this has not been confirmed yet.
Just hours after he pulled out his gun, eyewitnesses shared video footage of the moment the lone man pulled the trigger.
The footage was shot from a second storey balcony shows a man, dressed from head to toe in black, walking quickly down the Danforth Avenue footpath. He then pulls a pistol as he turned towards a shop front.
Witnesses say he continued firing as he moved on, with victims seen scattered across a wide area.
Toronto’s chief of police Mark Saunders has told media an officer confronted the man and exchanged gunfire. It was unclear whether the gunman died from wounds inflicted by the officer or himself.
One of the 14 victims, a woman, has since died. A young girl, believed to be about eight, is in a critical condition.
Mayor John Tory told a press conference that ‘people should not reach any conclusions’ as to the motive of the attack ‘because police themselves have not yet drawn any conclusions’.
“Yes, we have a gun problem,” he added. “Guns are too readily available to too many people”.
When asked if terrorism was behind the shooting, he said nothing is off the table. “This was not a random shooting,” he said.
read more at news.com.au
My evening was nice until I heard shooting right out of my place on the danforth. So scary!! The gun violence in Toronto is crazy. pic.twitter.com/eNHLlUlp6r
— n? (@nsxoxoii) July 23, 2018
PHOTOS: Numerous people shot along Danforth Av in #Toronto‘s Greektown. Reports of at least 10 victims including children. Patients are spread across several blocks in the area. Mass casualty response from @TorontoMedics @Toronto_Fire. pic.twitter.com/UK8lUHUP5l
— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyGlobalTV) July 23, 2018
#BREAKING Multiple people reportedly killed and many injured in mass shooting in Toronto, Canada, local media reports pic.twitter.com/zgdlIRvhuZ
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) July 23, 2018
BREAKING: Multiple people shot on Danforth Av in Greektown. Victims are spread across many blocks. pic.twitter.com/PvobE1so81
— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyGlobalTV) July 23, 2018
PHOTOS: Numerous people shot along Danforth Av in #Toronto‘s Greektown. Reports of at least 10 victims including children. Patients are spread across several blocks in the area. Mass casualty response from @TorontoMedics @Toronto_Fire. pic.twitter.com/UK8lUHUP5l
— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyGlobalTV) July 23, 2018