Many questions remain nearly 36 hours after a lone gunman walked down a sidewalk on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue, killing two people and injuring 13 others.
Faisal Hussain, 29, was identified by authorities Monday as the man who carried out Sunday night’s rampage in Greektown.
READ MORE: Toronto gunman had ‘severe mental health challenges,’ according to family
Here’s what we know as of Tuesday morning.
Victims
Reese Fallon, 18, was identified Monday as one of the two victims in the Danforth shooting. She was a recent high school graduate from Toronto’s Malvern Collegiate Institute, and planned to study nursing at McMaster University. A GoFundMe page raising money for a $5,000 annual scholarship fund in Fallon’s honour had raised over $10,000 by Tuesday morning. The money will go to a graduate of Malvern Collegiate entering a nursing program.
The second victim, a 10-year-old girl, has yet to be identified.
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Dr. Najma Ahmed, a trauma surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital, said on Monday the hospital received five patients, three of whom underwent “immediate, lifesaving surgeries.” The injuries of the victims range from serious to critical condition.
Dr. Paul Hannam, chief of emergency medicine at Michael Garron Hospital, said seven patients were brought to the hospital. He said two of those people had gunshot wounds. Hannam said two of the seven patients remain in hospital, and both are listed in stable condition.
Meanwhile, a statement by Sunnybrook Hospital said it received three shooting victims. Their conditions are unknown.
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Hussain
The shooter is said to have suffered from “severe mental health challenges,” according to the Hussain family.
READ MORE: How the Danforth shooting played out in Toronto
“We are at a terrible loss for words but we must speak out to express our deepest condolences to the families who are now suffering on account of our son’s horrific actions,” Hussain’s family said in a statement. “We are utterly devastated by the incomprehensible news that our son was responsible for the senseless violence and loss of life that took place on the Danforth.”
Hussain didn’t have a criminal record, according to a police source, but he did have a history of mental health concerns from 2010 onwards.
Here’s what we don’t know
Hussain’s motive
Investigators were searching the Hussain family’s home in the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood Monday evening hoping to find clues as to why the 29-year-old carried out the rampage. Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders told reporters Monday that it was too early into the investigation and didn’t want to speculate on the shooter’s motive.
“We do not know why this happened,” the police chief said. “It’s way too early to relate it to anything. It would not serve justice well.
“These investigations, with speed of info being released … dealing with the homicide investigation, it doesn’t move that fast. The moment you close things early, you compromise it,” Saunders said.
Witnesses said Hussain appeared to be shooting randomly at anyone he could find on the Danforth.
“He was literally zigzagging, just one guy, zigzagging on the Danforth, going from the south to the north, and wherever he saw people, he would just start shooting,” a witness told Global News.
Another witness told Global News said the gunman “executed” a woman as she was trying to flee the area, adding the gunman shot the victim multiple times as she lay on the ground.
WATCH: Returning to the Danforth and remembering the victims
“A lady tried to run and she fell by the tree and he went ‘Boom, boom, boom,’ three times,” Andreas Mantzios said while gesturing with his hand.
The man said he was about three and half metres away from the gunman.
“The guy … had this look on his face, while I saw his profile, like he was screaming at something and shooting,” Mantzios said.
A total of 15 people were shot, including eight women.
How the shooter died
An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday morning to help determine how Hussain died. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), an independent agency that investigates police-involved incidents resulting in death and serious injury, said the gunman exchanged fire with two police officers before fleeing the area. He was later found dead, according to the agency.
“I can tell you that the SIU retrieved a firearm. What type? I can’t get into specifics,” an SIU spokesperson said Monday.
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It’s unclear whether Hussain was shot by police or if it was self-inflicted.
–With files from Maham Abedi and Andrew Russell
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