Toronto’s police chief says there is no evidence to support the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the horrific mass shooting in the Danforth neighbourhood that killed an 18-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl and injured 13 others.
On Wednesday, Police Chief Mark Saunders said they have no evidence to support ISIS’s claim of responsibility. Faisal Hussain, 29, has been identified by police as the gunman who shot indiscriminately at restaurant patrons and pedestrians enjoying a warm summer evening in Toronto’s busy Greektown neighbourhood on Sunday evening. He was found dead a short distance away following a shootout with police.
“Accurate information about this investigation will only be released by the Toronto Police Service,” the statement said. “We will continue to explore every investigative avenue including interviewing those who knew Mr. Hussain, reviewing his online activity, and looking into his experiences with mental health.”
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale echoed that sentiment in a statement his office released on Wednesday.
“Toronto Police remain the lead,” the statement said. “At this time, there is no national security nexus to the shooter.”
On Monday, Goodale also said Hussain was not on any federal watch lists.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement published by the group’s propaganda news agency Amaq. The terror group has made many false claims in the past, including the massacre at a country music festival in Las Vegas last fall that killed 58 people, an attack at a casino in the Philippines’ capital of Manila in June 2017 that killed 37 people, and a false bomb threat at France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport in September 2017.
