TORONTO, CANADA (RNN) – Two have died and at least 13 people are hospitalized following a mass shooting in a busy downtown area of Toronto Sunday night.
In a press conference, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said an 18-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl died as a result of the shooting, which happened around 10 p.m. ET.
He withheld the names of the victims, as well as the name of the 29-year-old male gunman, who died during an exchange of gunfire with police on Sunday night.
Monday afternoon, multiple news outlets identified the 18-year-old victim as Reese Fallon, a recent high school graduate who planned on studying nursing in college.
Saunders credited a quick police response for keeping the victim count lower than it could have been.
The 13 victims – between 10 and 59 years of age – were wounded in what has been called a "rapid and fluid incident," Saunders said.
Sgt. Terry Brown said that some of those injured have light injuries, but some have "life-altering" injuries.
The mass shooting unfolded at numerous scenes, which complicates the investigation, Brown said.
The police chief extended his condolences to those affected by the tragedy. "We don’t know why this happened yet," Saunders said.
He encouraged people in the area with any video or information to contact police. "Just a snippet" could help fill in the blanks, he said.
The 18-year-old who died is from Toronto, and the 10-year-old girl is from the greater Toronto area, Brown said.
The police sergeant encouraged people to refrain from speculation.
Danforth shooting #GO1341286,
– at this time, we have two victims who have been pronounced ^js— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) July 23, 2018
No officers were injured during the incident.
Police have not yet released information on the suspect or a possible motive. They said they don’t believe the attack was random.
The mass shooting comes just three months after what police have described as a "deliberate" van attack in the city that left 10 people dead.
The suspect in that case, 25-year-old Alek Minassian, allegedly posted a misogynistic message to Facebook minutes before the attack.
Witnesses described someone dressed in dark clothing walking down the street and shooting multiple people, CityNews Toronto reports.
The gunman used a handgun, according to the police chief.
"It’s almost inconceivable these kinds of things can happen. We were so used to living in a city where these things didn’t happen and, as we saw them going on in the world around us, that we thought they didn’t happen here – couldn’t or shouldn’t," said Toronto Mayor John Tory.
In a press conference, Tory said he believed the city has a gun problem because "guns are too readily available to too many people."
While our city will always be resilient in the face of such attacks, it does not mean such a cowardly act committed against our residents is any less painful – this is an attack against innocent families and our entire city.
— John Tory (@TorontosMayor) July 23, 2018
The Greektown neighborhood of Toronto, in which the shooting took place, is particularly busy on summer nights because of its many restaurants, cafes and shops, according to CTV News.
There had been a recent spike of gun violence in the city, the Associated Press reports. Dozens of additional officers had been deployed to combat the violence, allegedly caused by gangs.
WARNING: The below video contains language and content that some viewers may find disturbing.
My evening was nice until I heard shooting right out of my place on the danforth. So scary!! The gun violence in Toronto is crazy. pic.twitter.com/eNHLlUlp6r
— Nimo (@nsxoxoii) July 23, 2018
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