Five people have been shot dead in a condominium unit near Toronto.
York Regional Police confirmed the death toll from the tragic event in a release Monday morning, noting that a sixth victim is currently “in hospital in serious condition.”
“The suspect is deceased,” it added about the mass shooting, which happened around 7:20 p.m. Sunday at a residential building located on Jane Street in the City of Vaughan.
“When police arrived, an interaction occurred between the officers and a male subject and the subject was shot,” York Police said in the statement, confirming that officers had attended the scene after receiving a report of “an active male shooter who had shot several victims.”
“He was pronounced deceased at the scene,” read the release. The matter is now in the hands of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of the Ontario Police.
Fatal shooting in Vaughn, Ontario.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP
“We offer our sincere condolences to the victims and their families,” York Police Chief James MacSween said in the release.
Speaking to reporters at the location, he added that authorizes discovered a “horrendous scene,” reported NBC Bay Area News.
“Six deceased. One of them is the subject. The other five are victims,” he added.
York Police did not name the suspect or identify the deceased. The investigation into the tragedy is currently listed as “active and ongoing.”
Ontario authorities have also urged anyone with information to contact the York Regional Police Homicide Unit at 1-288-876-5423 ext. 7865 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or leave an anonymous tip online atwww.1800222tips.com.
Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP
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Shootings on this scale remain relatively unusual in Canada.
The rampage began in the small town of Portapique. Chief Superintendent Chris Leather with the Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police told theNew York Timesthat police discovered dead bodies both inside and outside of a family home.
From there, authorities chased the gunman — later identified as 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman — across the province, where he shot more victims. Police told theTimesthat the rampage did not begin as a random act of violence, but that the killings became more random as they progressed.
When police finally caught up with Wortman in Enfield, about 60 miles away, a shootout ensued and he was killed.
source: people.com
