Teenager killed by Toronto mass shooter had just finished high school and was going to be a nurse

Pictured: Toronto shooting victim Reese Fallon, 18. Reese was celebrating a birthday with two friends when she was killed. Her friends were also shot and are in hospital

The Toronto shooter, 29, who killed two including a girl, 10, and left 12 more wounded has been named as Faisal Hussain.

Police watchdog identified Hussain, of Toronto, as being behind the mass shooting on Sunday CTV reported.

The Special Investigations Unit say an immediate family member confirmed the identity of Hussain who was founded dead after a shootout with police in Greektown on Danforth. 

A post-mortem is scheduled for Tuesday. 

Police said they were still investigating a possible motive behind the shooting.

Meanwhile, his first victim has been identified as Reese Fallon, 18.

Reese had recently graduated high school and was going to study nursing when she was gunned down by Hussain who began shooting randomly at pedestrians and into restaurants in the popular area at about 10pm.

Her local MP, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, identified the woman as one of two people killed by the gunman. 

The other vicitm, a 10-year-old girl from the Greater Toronto Area, has not yet been identified.

Erskine-Smith toldCityNews the teenager had been out with two friends in Danforth for a birthday when she was killed. Her friends were also shot and are being treated in hospital.

he said Reese’s family ‘hasn’t processed this yet’. ‘They’re devastated, as any parent would be,’ he said.

A woman who identified herself as Reese’s cousin said she was ‘heartbroken’ at the news.

‘My beautiful cousin. My heart hurts seeing this everywhere,’ she wrote.  

‘Seeing my friends mark themselves as safe on Facebook. But Reese can’t mark herself safe. I’m so devastated for her and her family. I’m in f***ing shock.’ 

Two of the injured victims in hospital are believed to be Reese’s friends.

Police Chief Mark Saunders said he was still looking into the motive behind the attack.

‘I’m keeping everything open. Looking at every single possible motive for this; when you have this many people struck by gunfire, it’s a grave concern,’ he said.

‘I certainly want to find out exactly what it is, so I am not closing any doors or any chapters on this. I certainly don’t want to speculate… I don’t know why he did what he did, and he won’t be able to tell us because he is deceased.’

He did not rule out whether terrorism or gang violence was involved. 

Saunders added that the remaining victims are aged 10-59, and their injuries range from minor to serious in nature, with homicide detective Sargent Terry Browne saying some may have ‘life-altering’ wounds.

The gunman, a Toronto man, was also shot dead after getting into a firefight with officers. Police have not released his identity due to an investigation by the Special Investigation Unit, and have given no indication of what his motive might be.

The mass shooting began around 10pm near the intersection of Danforth and Chester Avenues in the popular Greektown neighborhood while the street was bustling with diners.

A cellphone video shot from a window overlook the street shows the gunman walk up to a restaurant window, pull out a handgun, and fire several shots through the glass.  

A 29-year-old man walked through a busy restaurant district in Toronto on Sunday night, shooting pedestrians and firing his gun into restaurants

A 29-year-old man walked through a busy restaurant district in Toronto on Sunday night, shooting pedestrians and firing his gun into restaurants

Suddenly he turned as he passed by what appeared to be a store or restaurant front, whipped out his gun and opened fire

Surveillance footage from the scene appeared to capture the shooter, in a black hoodie, walking down the street during the mass shooting in Toronto on Sunday evening. Suddenly he turned as he passed by what appeared to be a store or restaurant front, whipped out his gun and opened fire

Two people were  killed and at least nine others were injured after the gunman opened fire in Toronto. A nine-year-old girl was left in a critical condition (pictured: police react to the shooting)

Two people were killed and at least nine others were injured after the gunman opened fire in Toronto. A nine-year-old girl was left in a critical condition (pictured: police react to the shooting)

Fire and ambulance crews loaded the victims into ambulances and rushed them to local trauma centers

Fire and ambulance crews loaded the victims into ambulances and rushed them to local trauma centers

Pictured: A man with a wound to his leg is taken away by paramedics following the shooting on Toronto's Danforth Avenue

Pictured: A man with a wound to his leg is taken away by paramedics following the shooting on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue

Police said 13 people were wounded, including an eight or nine-year-old girl in critical condition, and one young woman killed after the Sunday night shooting, as well as another, unidentified, person

Police said 13 people were wounded, including an eight or nine-year-old girl in critical condition, and one young woman killed after the Sunday night shooting, as well as another, unidentified, person

Three gunshots were heard before the person filming ducked to safety and stopped recording.

The gunman shot at least 14 people. A young woman died in hospital on Sunday night after succumbing to her injuries. Several other victims reportedly suffered ‘significant injuries’.

A young girl, 9, was taken to a pediatric trauma center and is in a critical condition, police said, while six more of his victims were rushed to a trauma center. At least two others were taken to hospital. 

The nine-year-old girl was taken to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, CBC reported, while four more victims were taken to St. Michael’s Hospital and three others to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center. 

Officers revealed the second victim had died in the early hours of Monday morning.

Mark Saunders, Toronto Police Chief, confirmed the suspect was killed in ‘an exchange of gunfire’ with the police and pronounced dead at the scene.

He said police are still looking for a motive behind the shooting. 

‘We’re living in a different world now. When you look at the global issues, when you look at motivations for doing these things, and you know that urban cities are much more vulnerable to these.’ 

Toronto Councillor Paula Fletcher told CP24 she’d been told the gunman was emotionally disturbed, as did Councillor Mary Fragedakis.

‘It’s not gang related. It looks like someone who is very disturbed,’ Fletcher said. 

Mayor of Toronto John Tory also urged the public not to ‘draw any conclusions’ about the shooting, but to wait for police to conduct their investigation.

He added: ‘I just want to say to the families of those we lost tonight and to those… who were injured… I extend the deepest condolences.’

Tory also admitted Toronto has ‘a gun problem in that guns are too readily available to too many people’, and said: ‘It’s almost inconceivable that these things can happen’. 

An unknown number of people were treated at the scene. A witness said multiple victims were injured on different blocks.

Mike McCormack, the president of the Toronto Police Association, told CBC officers were faced with a ‘terrible scene’, and that even veteran officers said they’d never seen anything like it.   

‘It’s just a terrible scene. Families enjoying themselves on the Danforth, supposed to be in a very safe area, and this happens,’ he said. ‘It’s absolutely devastating.’

Police spent hours at the crime scene on Monday morning, with chief Mark Saunders telling reporters the area would not reopen for 'some time'

Police spent hours at the crime scene on Monday morning, with chief Mark Saunders telling reporters the area would not reopen for ‘some time’

Green markers were used to identify places where bullet casings were found scattered along the street. A 10-year-old girl and 18-year-old woman were killed in the mass shooting on Sunday night

Police investigate a car with a bullet hole on a street in east Toronto after 16 people, including the gunman, were shot

Police investigate a car with a bullet hole on a street in east Toronto after 16 people, including the gunman, were shot

A witness at the scene said multiple victims were injured on different blocks across the Greektown area

A witness at the scene said multiple victims were injured on different blocks across the Greektown area

One person, who police later conformed was the shooter, was pronounced dead at the scene, six others were rushed to a trauma center

One person, who police later conformed was the shooter, was pronounced dead at the scene, six others were rushed to a trauma center

An armed police officer patrols along Danforth avenue shortly after the shooting on Sunday night

An armed police officer patrols along Danforth avenue shortly after the shooting on Sunday night

Police began combing the streets for evidence on Sunday night and continued during the day on Monday

Police began combing the streets for evidence on Sunday night and continued during the day on Monday

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders addresses the media after the mass shooting in downtown Toronto. He confirmed the shooter was killed in an 'exchange of gunfire' with police

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders addresses the media after the mass shooting in downtown Toronto. He confirmed the shooter was killed in an ‘exchange of gunfire’ with police

People leave an area taped off by the police near the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto, Canada, July 22

People leave an area taped off by the police near the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto, Canada, July 22

Police cleared the area after the shooting, and people are seen leaving the area under the yellow tape

Police cleared the area after the shooting, and people are seen leaving the area under the yellow tape

Officers flooded the scene on Sunday night and a heavy police presence remained until the morning

Officers flooded the scene on Sunday night and a heavy police presence remained until the morning

A police officer escorts a civilian away from the scene of the shooting, which took place less than three months after a man in a van plowed into pedestrians on a Toronto sidewalk in late April, killing 10 people and injuring 14.

A police officer escorts a civilian away from the scene of the shooting, which took place less than three months after a man in a van plowed into pedestrians on a Toronto sidewalk in late April, killing 10 people and injuring 14.

A witness at the scene, who did not want to be named, told DailyMail.com she’d seen the shooter, in a black hoodie, black baseball cap and black top, shooting and breaking the glass at a storefront. She described the terrifying moment she heard ‘at least 8 shots’ ring out in the typically quiet and family friendly neighborhood.’

‘I was in a car and heard loud gun shots which I at first thought was a car back firing, but then turned around and saw him shooting into a store from the sidewalk,’ she told us.

‘The glass was broken and he was shooting directly into the store, I heard at least 8 shots if not more. 

‘I yelled at my friend to drive and we got out of there as fast as we could. As we drove down the street we saw everyone coming out of stores to see what was going on.’  

Witnesses also described seeing several people on the ground inside Mezes Restaurant, although it was unclear if they were hiding or injured. 

Andrew Mantzios told the Globe and Mail he heard gunshots about 10pm and saw ‘people falling all over the place’, while he was enjoying a coffee with friends near Danforth and Logan Avenues.

Mantzios said when he turned around he saw the gunman, who was dressed in black and had a ‘horrible expression on his face’ and was pointing his gun and firing into a crowd of people waiting to cross the street.

He said he heard a person yell ‘get down’ before watching a woman try to run and fall instead.

‘[The gunman] turned around and shot her point blank, two or three times,’ he said. 

A woman named Diana told CP24 said she had been working at Demetres café serving the family of the nine-year-old girl who was shot, when she saw a gunman aim at the restaurant and fire about three shots through the patio doors.

Jody Steinhauer told CBC News she was with her family at Christina’s restaurant on the Danforth when she heard a blast of gunfire, which she initially mistook for firecrackers.

Suddenly, she and the other customers were told to run to the back of the restaurant.

‘We started to hear people scream out front,’ Steinhauer said.  

The area was closed off to the public on Monday, and police say it could be ‘some time’ before it is reopened. Officers loaded people at the scene onto several city buses to take them to local police divisions, and have asked anyone with information, videos or photos to come forward.

Video taken on Monday and shared by local Jamie Tracey showed police combing the streets in slow-moving lines for evidence. 

Police say it’s too early to say if the shooting was gang or terror related. Gun crime appears to have spiked in the area, with official statistics reporting 220 shootings and 27 gun deaths from January 1 to July 14, and 196 shootings causing 17 deaths for the whole of 2017. 

City officials have blamed the spike on gang violence, and Toronto has deployed 200 police officers since July 20 to try and help combat the increase in crime.

The mass shooting comes after a driver of a van plowed into pedestrians on a Toronto sidewalk in late April, killing 10 people and injuring 14.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the attack, but they have said the arrested driver, Alek Minassian, posted a message on social media referencing a misogynistic online community before the attack. 

It was the worst mass killing in Canada since December 6, 1989, when a man shot 14 women at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal before turning the gun on himself. 

Social media reports suggest the shooting began at a restaurant near Chester Avenue, with additional shots fired at nearby Logan Avenue (pictured right)

Social media reports suggest the shooting began at a restaurant near Chester Avenue, with additional shots fired at nearby Logan Avenue (pictured right)

Multiple people were injured after shots were fired in the area of Danforth and Logan avenues (Pictured: Toronto Paramedic Services respond to the shooting)

Multiple people were injured after shots were fired in the area of Danforth and Logan avenues (Pictured: Toronto Paramedic Services respond to the shooting)

A nine-year-old girl was taken to a pediatric trauma center, and two others were taken to hospital. A further six were also rushed to trauma centers in the area

A nine-year-old girl was taken to a pediatric trauma center, and two others were taken to hospital. A further six were also rushed to trauma centers in the area

Police say the shooter was confirmed dead at the scene following an exchange of gunfire with officers

Police say the shooter was confirmed dead at the scene following an exchange of gunfire with officers

Pictured: Police officers take a break on a street near Danforth Avenue after responding to reports of a shooting

Pictured: Police officers take a break on a street near Danforth Avenue after responding to reports of a shooting

Pictured: Armed officers patrol downtown Toronto following the fatal shooting on Sunday night

Pictured: Armed officers patrol downtown Toronto following the fatal shooting on Sunday night

Officers gather close to the scene of the shooting, at the corner of Danforth Avenue and Chester Avenue

Officers gather close to the scene of the shooting, at the corner of Danforth Avenue and Chester Avenue

At least eight people are injured, including a child, after a gunman opened fire in Toronto on Sunday evening

At least eight people are injured, including a child, after a gunman opened fire in Toronto on Sunday evening



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