A shooting in the suburbs of Toronto in Canada, has left six persons dead and another wounded in an apartment building.
The suspect was one of the six who died on Sunday after an exchange of fire with law enforcement officers, Police Chief Jim MacSween told reporters, saying the shooting took place in an apartment building.
The wounded person was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
According to Al Jazeera, police were called to the site on Sunday evening.
“Once the officers arrived they were met with … a horrendous scene where numerous victims were deceased,” MacSween told reporters.
Police are investigating the motive and whether there was a connection between the victims and the male suspect, who has not been named. The suspect allegedly acted alone.
The victims were found in different apartments in the building, which is located in Vaughan, in the suburbs about 30km (20 miles) north of Toronto.
Residents were evacuated immediately and dozens of ambulances and police officers were at the scene.
Constable Laura Nicolle told CNN the incident was the “most terrible call I’ve seen in my entire career”.
Nicolle said in an earlier news conference it appeared the victims were from more than one unit.
She said next of kin are still being contacted, so specific information cannot be released at this time.
Nicolle also said it’s not known if there was any relation between the suspect and the victims and that the condo building remains an “active, ongoing scene.”
Nicolle said the shooting has left “a lot of people” displaced from their homes as police conduct their investigation.
“We want to make sure that [they] know that they’re going to be safe and that we get them back into their home as quickly as we can.”
Meanwhile, MacSween urged residents to “be patient,” adding that officers will do their very best to clear the building as quickly as possible.
He said officers are clearing the building “floor by floor” to make sure nothing is missed.
“They’ll continue to do that work until it’s done. We have engaged with some residents already and asked them for their patience, and so we’re hoping within a couple of hours we can have everybody back, but it’ll take some time.”
Ontario’s special investigations unit, which becomes involved when there is a death or serious injury involving police, is investigating.
Police have not identified the suspect or named the deceased.
Canada has experienced a surge in gun violence, which has prompted it to recently legislate to ban handguns.
In April 2020, a gunman disguised as a policeman killed 22 people in the eastern province of Nova Scotia, Canada’s worst mass shooting.
In September this year, a man stabbed 11 people to death and wounded 18 others, mainly in an isolated Indigenous community in Saskatchewan province.
Firearms-related violent crimes account for less than 3 percent of all violent crimes in Canada – but since 2009, the per capita rate of guns being fired with intent to kill or wound has increased five-fold.
Canada banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms in May 2020, days after the Nova Scotia shooting.