Two men are dead and a woman is injured after they were shot in downtown Toronto on Tuesday afternoon, police say.
Officers said a male is now in custody and a gun has been recovered.
Global News sources have confirmed the person in custody is Benedict Kongolo.
Toronto police Det. Sgt. Tiffany Castell said the victims and the suspect are related, but investigators won’t disclose the nature of their relationships at this time.
Emergency crews responded to the scene at 1:28 p.m. When officers arrived, they located three people suffering from gunshot wounds: two men and a woman.
Police said one man died at the scene and the second man was pronounced dead in hospital. The woman was also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A Global News cameraman saw emergency crews performing CPR on one of the victims who was being taken to hospital.
Police haven’t released the ages of the victims and said they won’t release their names until the next of kin have been notified.
Castell said their investigation involves two crime scenes, one on Arnold Avenue and one at Dundas and Parliament.
She said the incident began at a house Arnold Avenue where shots were fired. The incident finished around Dundas and Parliament, where shots were also fired, prior to a foot pursuit of the suspect by officers, Castell said.
When officers attended the scene, they located a suspect and started the pursuit, Castell said.
During the pursuit, two officers were also injured “in an altercation.” Both officers were taken to hospital with varying injuries. Castell said one officer injured their arm and the other injured their leg.
“Thankfully, they’re okay,” she said, noting that one officer had already been discharged from the hospital.
At this point, police said they are not looking for any other suspects but are asking witnesses to come forward.
Castell added that police will be laying first-degree murder charges against the suspect.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow released a statement about the incident, saying that she was “deeply saddened.”
“My heart goes out to the families and community. I wish a speedy recovery to the injured officers,” Chow said in a post on X. “I’ve spoken with the Chief to express gratitude for the officers’ swift action in apprehending the suspect.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Toronto police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
Comments