Police Seek Motive After Gunman Kills Two In Toronto

Police were seeking to determine a motive on Monday after a 29-year-old man opened fire with a handgun in a bustling Toronto neighborhood overnight, killing two people and wounding at least a dozen others.

The suspect, who has not been identified, was found dead in a nearby alley after an exchange of gunfire with police.

Video footage posted by Canadian media showed a man clad in black walking on the sidewalk in Toronto's Greektown neighborhood and suddenly pulling out a handgun and shooting into a restaurant.

Toronto police said two people had been killed, one of them a woman. A young girl was earlier described as in critical condition.

"Our entire city has been shocked by this cowardly act of violence," Toronto Mayor John Tory said. "Gun violence in any part of our city is horrible and completely unacceptable."

Tory said police were seeking to "determine as quickly as possible what happened and why."

"I promise all of the people of Toronto, but most importantly those directly affected by this tragedy, that we will all be relentless in getting answers about why this senseless attack happened," he said.

Police said the man began firing shots at groups of people on Danforth Avenue, in an area known for its cafes and restaurants, around 10:00 pm.

Witnesses reported hearing at least 20 shots.

Police officers located the man on a cross street "and an exchange of gunfire took place," police said.

"The man fled the area and was located deceased on Danforth Avenue," police said.

Officers, some armed with rifles, sealed off Danforth Avenue, Greektown's main street, after the shooting.

"There was a lot of shots," John Tulloch, who was out for a walk at the time, told The Globe and Mail. "There'd be a pause, we heard more shooting, and then a pause and then more shooting.

"There must've been 20, 30 shots, altogether. It was a lot. We just ran," he said.

People screamed, fled

Jody Steinhauer told CBC News she was at a restaurant with her family when she heard what sounded like 10 to 15 blasts of firecrackers.

She said she was told to run to the back of the restaurant.

"We started to hear people scream out front," Steinhauer told the broadcaster.

Ontario's new Premier Doug Ford called it a "horrific act of gun violence" and said his heart went out to the victims. 

The shooting rampage comes as Canada's largest metropolis is concerned over a surge of shootings.

Canada traditionally has relatively low levels of gun violence, particularly compared with the neighboring United States.

Tory, the mayor, said the shooting is "evidence of a gun problem" in Toronto.

"Guns are too readily available to too many people," Tory said.

"There are far too many people carrying around guns in our city and our region who should not have them," he said. "That leads to another discussion, 'Why does anyone in this city need to have gun at all?'"

According to Toronto police figures, as of July 14 there were 220 shootings in the city this year with 27 fatalities. There were 196 shootings with 17 deaths for all of 2017. 

Last week, Toronto police started implementing a "gun violence reduction plan." That includes having 200 additional officers on shifts in particular neighborhoods between the hours of 7:00 pm and 3:00 am -- when most shootings occur.

The Greektown shooting comes about three months after the city was shaken by the deaths of 10 people killed by a man with an apparent grudge against women who drove into pedestrians on a busy street in Toronto's north end.