Toronto condo shooting leaves 5 dead and suspect killed

Six people, including the suspect, are dead after a shooting at a condominium just outside Toronto on Sunday night.

Police were called to a residential building in Vaughan, just north of Toronto, at around 7:20 p.m. ET Sunday for reports of an active shooter who had shot several people, York Regional Police said in a news release.

At least five people were killed, and a sixth victim was taken to a hospital in serious condition, police said.

The suspect, who has been identified only as a male, was killed in an “interaction” with officers, police said. Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, which investigates incidents of death or serious injuries involving police, has been notified, it said.

York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween described the scene at a news conference as “horrendous.”

He said in a separate statement, “We offer our sincere condolences to the victims and their families.”

It was not immediately clear what unfolded in the lead-up to the shooting or what any potential motive could be.

MacSween said police believed there was no further threat to public safety.

Police said the investigation was active, with updates to come. They urged anyone with information to contact the York Regional Police Homicide Unit at 1-288-876-5423 ext. 7865, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or leave an anonymous tip online at www.1800222tips.com.

Mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada.

In April 2020, a gunman killed at least 16 people in the province of Nova Scotia during an hourslong rampage that marked the country’s deadliest shooting in decades.

In July 2018, a man killed two people and wounded 13 others before he turned the gun on himself after he walked down a busy street in Toronto and shot randomly into restaurants.

A shooting at a mosque in Quebec City also made international headlines in January 2017 when a man opened fire during evening prayers, killing six people and wounding five others.

Joe Studley and Reuters contributed.