(Toronto) An argument at a business carrying out financial transactions escalated into a shooting that left three people dead, including the shooter, Toronto police said Monday evening as they investigated the incident that occurred earlier in the day near a daycare and a school.
Investigators said they responded to reports of shots fired shortly before 3:30 p.m. at a commercial building. Two men and a woman died, they said.
“We believe that the individual responsible for the shooting is one of those who died,” Detective Sergeant Alan Bartlett said in the evening at the crime scene. The premises behind me are commercial premises. We believe, at this point, that the altercation that took place was related to this company. »
Police believe there were four people inside the commercial building at the time, Bartlett said.
A nearby daycare and school were closed following the shooting, but Bartlett stressed that no children were directly affected by what happened other than the lockdown.
“They have all been reunited with their parents,” he confirmed, adding that there was no access between the business offices and the daycare.
When asked if police were investigating a murder followed by suicide, the officer responded that the shooter was among the victims.
“With every homicide investigation, we must be open to all possibilities. This is no different than any other homicide investigation. We will deploy the same resources to try to understand exactly what happened inside,” he explained.
Earlier in the afternoon, a supervisor had informed parents that everyone inside the school and daycare was safe.
Relieved parents hugged their children after being reunited outside the police cordon.
Police said Toronto Transit Commission buses were used to shelter the children while they waited for their parents or guardians to pick them up.
A large police presence occupied the area for much of the day. Investigators are expected to continue working in the area until Tuesday.
