CANADA - 3 dead including gunman, 12 injured in Greektown shooting, Toronto, July 2018

[bluesneakers]

Faisal Hussain was heavily armed during Danforth shooting spree: sources
A police source also told the CBC that a subsequent search of Hussain’s Thorncliffe Park apartment uncovered an assault rifle along with ammunition and a high-capacity magazine.

There is no evidence Hussain had a criminal record and, according to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, he was not on a federal watch list.

680 NEWS reported Hussain was known to police for his “online activity,” but the type of activity that drew the attention of authorities hasn’t been revealed.

The Islamic State Group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Toronto police say there’s no evidence at this point that the shooting was terror-related.

 

[bluesneakers]

ISIS claims of responsibility for Toronto shooting raise questions of credibility
ISIS had trusted individuals around the world. When people were inspired to launch attacks, the attackers could reach out to give these individuals proof of support by sending them videos or oaths of allegiance, Amarasingam said.

But sometime in mid-2017, things changed for the terror group, he said. Many of its trusted individuals were arrested, and they lost the ability to maintain these networks in Syria and Iraq as coalition forces took back major ISIS-controlled cities.

"A lot of this chain of transmission — from attack to claim — started to fall apart, and they started to get sloppy, and they started to claim quite bizarre attacks that were quite obviously not terrorism-related."
...
"What we need to find out is [if] this guy had any sort of digital ties, or any other sort of connections, that put him into the types of case that we've seen in the past," he said. "Thus far, I haven't seen anything like that."
...
"It's not to say, in a week's time or a of couple days, they won't find information on his phone or information on his computer that he was talking to someone in Syria, or talking to somebody in ISIS central, or talking to a supporter somewhere around the world."

 

[bluesneakers]

Danforth shooter Faisal Hussain’ former teacher says there are ‘gaps’ in Ontario mental health system

Sajel Bellon, who led the program which aimed to train members of the community to get back into the workforce, said she had seen a positive transformation in Hussain from the start of the program to the end.
...
“No more hoodie, totally engaging with his peers in class, relating with the content we were delivering and by the end of the program, we were seeing a full transformation.”

Bellon said Hussain completed the course “ready and willing to go out there and get a job and move onto the next phase of his life.”
...
“It’s not just one layer of issue or dynamic that we need to be looking at. There’s cultural issues, theere’s financial issues, there are societal issues, there are understandings about mental health and understanding sometimes about reactionary issues,” she said. “It’s not as simple as everyone is trying to make it out to be.”

“I think there’s a lot of nuances and dynamics that play into this and I think we really need to look at it from a systemic level.”
...
“People are not hopeless, we can reach them we just need to have the right things in place and know how to make connection and I think if we can do that then we can prevent something like this [Danforth shooting] from happening in the future.”​

Video at link.

 

[MistyWaters]

Here’s a look at some misinformation being spread about Toronto mass shooter Faisal Hussain

You guessed it - Facebook. Photos dug up by users claiming it’s Hussain, not true.

 

[MistyWaters]

Judging by the appearance of the murdered young female victims, might this also be considered a hate crime ?
Apparently the perp seemed to have enough control of himself to not go snap crackle pop at Thornecliffe.
speculation.rbbm.
"The Danforth gunman could have been both ill and evil: Opinion | CBC News
"The impulse to categorize an act so unthinkable does make sense: if we can understand the specific reason why this happened, then perhaps we can make changes to ensure it doesn't happen again. The problem with this line of thinking is that it assumes the perpetrators of these mass atrocities can be neatly classified as just one thing. But seldom is that the case."

"The point here is that all of these factors — the ubiquity of guns, predisposition to violence, history of mental illness, susceptibility to online radicalization, hatred of women — can be interconnected."

"The Globe and Mail reported that on Sunday night on his way to the Danforth, Hussain, who was then carrying his gun, came across a neighbourhood resident named Jaspal Singh and said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you." ISIS claimed ownership of the attack two days later."

What counts as a 'hate crime' in Canada?

It may well have been a “hate crime” but to the definition of the term, it can’t be prosecuted as such.

LE hasn’t released information regarding the location of any of the victims who were shot although in crowded restaurants or cafes, who his actual targets were might be impossible to ever know. Were any of the victims shot on the actual street or was it all within certain buildings? I don’t recall that being stated yet.

 

[x_files]

Teacher says Faisal Hussain told him: 'I want to kill someone'
"A teacher and a former classmate of the man who shot 15 people on a busy Toronto street on Sunday say he made disturbing comments that once prompted a call to police.

Faisal Hussain’s teacher at Victoria Park Collegiate says the school called the police nine years ago after a conversation he had with Hussain in class.

“I asked him, ‘What do you want to do? Like what do you want to do with your life?’” the teacher told CTV Toronto. “And (Hussain) said 'I want to kill someone.'”
"The classmate says she was friends with Hussain on Facebook and that he would post pictures of guns and make worrisome comments.
“He would talk about beating up his mom,”
rbbm.

Another glaring red flag ignored...yet again. No one sane talks like this ever. Why are these comments brushed off?

 

[dotr]

What counts as a 'hate crime' in Canada?

It may well have been a “hate crime” but to the definition of the term, it can’t be prosecuted as such.

LE hasn’t released information regarding the location of any of the victims who were shot although in crowded restaurants or cafes, who his actual targets were might be impossible to ever know. Were any of the victims shot on the actual street or was it all within certain buildings? I don’t recall that being stated yet.

10-year-old girl, 18-year-old woman killed in Toronto mass shooting
rbbm.
"The man, he said, was pointing his gun and firing at a crowd of people standing on the corner of the intersection, waiting to cross the street. Somebody yelled to get down.
“And then a lady tried to run and she fell down,” Mr. Mantzios recalled. “He turned around and shot her point blank, two or three times.”

As he and others in the square scrambled to the ground, Mr. Mantzios watched as the man criss-crossed along Danforth, shooting into businesses. He said a friend of his saw the man change the clip of his weapon.

People were “falling all over the place – maybe seven, eight, nine of them,” he said. But hours later, he was still horrified by the image of the woman by the square being “executed.”

 

[bluesneakers]

The Danforth shooting: anatomy of an online hate fest

According to VICE, Hussain is one of four children, described as a loner by those in the Thorncliffe Park apartment complex who were acquainted with him. It’s the kind of narrative we’ve become accustomed to with lone wolf gunmen. Only this one is more complicated. Hussain's brother has reportedly been in the hospital with a coma from a drug overdose for months. This piece in the Star suggests Hussain's brother was a drug dealer with access to guns. Hussain's sister, meanwhile, died in a car accident some years back.

...
But if we’re looking for people to blame for Sunday’s attack then that’s another area to explore, as is the fact that Toronto is a global city that has so far been very lucky to be spared the kind of terrorism-inspired violence we see in other cities of comparable size. There are many reasons for that, including the fact that we have historically been a welcoming country.

Not anymore. We live in polarizing times. And it's only being made more dangerous by those who insist on blaming Muslim terrorism every time a tragedy like Sunday's shooting occurs. The braying isn't helping.​

 

[MistyWaters]

10-year-old girl, 18-year-old woman killed in Toronto mass shooting
rbbm.
"The man, he said, was pointing his gun and firing at a crowd of people standing on the corner of the intersection, waiting to cross the street. Somebody yelled to get down.
“And then a lady tried to run and she fell down,” Mr. Mantzios recalled. “He turned around and shot her point blank, two or three times.”

As he and others in the square scrambled to the ground, Mr. Mantzios watched as the man criss-crossed along Danforth, shooting into businesses. He said a friend of his saw the man change the clip of his weapon.

People were “falling all over the place – maybe seven, eight, nine of them,” he said. But hours later, he was still horrified by the image of the woman by the square being “executed.”

Thank you! I wonder, is it possible he targeted females?

 

[bluesneakers]

People were “falling all over the place – maybe seven, eight, nine of them,” he said. But hours later, he was still horrified by the image of the woman by the square being “executed.”

I've read this specific description I don't know how many times and it still turns my stomach.

 

[dotr]

Psychiatric association warns against stigmatizing mentally ill
"TORONTO — The man responsible for a deadly shooting in the heart of Toronto's Greektown may have struggled with mental illness, but the body representing the country's psychiatrists cautioned that tying his psychiatric history with his recent actions risks stigmatizing those contending with similar issues.

Faisal Hussain killed two people and injured 13 when he unleashed a hail of bullets along the city's Danforth Avenue on Sunday night. The attack ended after he exchanged fire with two officers and was found dead nearby. Hussain's parents have since outlined their son's battle with depression and psychosis.

The Canadian Psychiatric Association warned Thursday that making Hussain's mental state a focal point of discussions around the shooting misrepresents the majority of people grappling with similar circumstances and risks deepening the stigma they already face."

"The perception that mental illness carries with it a potential for violence has been proven wrong in many studies," association president Dr. Nachiketa Sinha said in a statement. "The best risk factor for future violence is previous violence – whether one is mentally ill or not."

Discussion of Hussain's psychiatric struggles entered the narrative around the Danforth shooting less than a day after it came to an end.

 

[bluesneakers]

Thank you! I wonder, is it possible he targeted females?

I wonder too, and I also wonder with his family situation and history of mental illness if we'll ever get any kind of motive that makes sense*, or if it's going to remain a mystery forever.

*Not that they ever do, but I think we get familiar with common themes. École Polytechnique massacre - we know what he was thinking. Quebec City mosque - shooter's motives are clear. I have a feeling we won't get those answers this time.

 

[MistyWaters]

I wonder too, and I also wonder with his family situation and history of mental illness if we'll ever get any kind of motive that makes sense*, or if it's going to remain a mystery forever.

*Not that they ever do, but I think we get familiar with common themes. École Polytechnique massacre - we know what he was thinking. Quebec City mosque - shooter's motives are clear. I have a feeling we won't get those answers this time.

I wonder about motive in some of these horrific mass shootings in general, cases where a perpetrator commits suicide or suicide by cop immediately upon the conclusion of their horrible rampage just when LE closes in.

Is maybe suicide their motive at the onset but knowing the shootings will guarantee name recognition in an utterly perverse manner? The circumstances surrounding their death makes headline news and suddenly a whole lot of people care? Obviously these types of people who commit these sorts of horrendous acts place no value on the lives of other innocent people, nor their own.

The reason I wonder, if Hassain had chosen to merely shoot themselves in the head, it wouldn’t be reported by MSM and his voluntary exit from life would be quite silent, perhaps even rationalized by those closest to him. This is also why I wonder if his evil murderous acts (unless he was totally psychotic) was deliberate with the secondary motive of humiliating or punishing his family members for some perceived wrong, considering he still lived at their home. JMO

 

[mikkismom]

People just want to matter.

 

[kmclaren]

Thank you! I wonder, is it possible he targeted females?

I don't know, he shot Julianna's dad too and several other men.

 

[bluesneakers]

I wonder about motive in some of these horrific mass shootings in general, cases where a perpetrator commits suicide or suicide by cop immediately upon the conclusion of their horrible rampage just when LE closes in.

Is maybe suicide their motive at the onset but knowing the shootings will guarantee name recognition in an utterly perverse manner? The circumstances surrounding their death makes headline news and suddenly a whole lot of people care? Obviously these types of people who commit these sorts of horrendous acts place no value on the lives of other innocent people, nor their own.

The reason I wonder, if Hassain had chosen to merely shoot themselves in the head, it wouldn’t be reported by MSM and his voluntary exit from life would be quite silent, perhaps even rationalized by those closest to him. This is also why I wonder if his evil murderous acts (unless he was totally psychotic) was deliberate with the secondary motive of humiliating or punishing his family members for some perceived wrong, considering he still lived at their home. JMO

I don't think they're all the same. Some want to kill themselves and be remembered, but others are sick and acting on that not on any rational thoughts (Li on the bus or Aurora).

But yes, I agree some of them want to be memorialized or go down in a blaze of history, heroes for their cause. It's a small thing, but in the cases I think are actually that I won't use their names. They should be remembered in history as nameless, meaningless, evil scum.

(@CARIIS, are you still here? Curious what you think about this. Like the Aurora shooter vs. the puke in Isla Vista.)

 

[MistyWaters]

I don't know, he shot Julianna's dad too and several other men.

I agree, it probably will never be known who he might’ve targeted given a semi-automatic gun used in crowded environment isn’t going to be precise. Although by the video captured of him, circulated by the media, and possible path down Danforth does made it appear he was choosing certain locations over others.

 

[MistyWaters]

I don't think they're all the same. Some want to kill themselves and be remembered, but others are sick and acting on that not on any rational thoughts (Li on the bus or Aurora).

But yes, I agree some of them want to be memorialized or go down in a blaze of history, heroes for their cause. It's a small thing, but in the cases I think are actually that I won't use their names. They should be remembered in history as nameless, meaningless, evil scum.

(@CARIIS, are you still here? Curious what you think about this. Like the Aurora shooter vs. the puke in Isla Vista.)

De Groot was found NCR in Calgary as well.
Matthew de Grood found not criminally responsible in Brentwood murders

In cases like the above, Aurora or Li, their psychosis led them to believe they were protecting themselves in some delusional manner.

In this case what differs is the subsequent act of suicide. If Hussain was psychotic enough to believe shooting innocent people would somehow save him, why did he put a gun to his own head (assuming he did, according to sources)? It somewhat mirrors the LV shooting in that regard imo.

 

[Gardenista]

I don't know, he shot Julianna's dad too and several other men.

He shot half men and half women. He's an equal opportunity killer.

 

[Jackeee]

I don't think they're all the same. Some want to kill themselves and be remembered, but others are sick and acting on that not on any rational thoughts (Li on the bus or Aurora).

But yes, I agree some of them want to be memorialized or go down in a blaze of history, heroes for their cause. It's a small thing, but in the cases I think are actually that I won't use their names. They should be remembered in history as nameless, meaningless, evil scum.

(@CARIIS, are you still here? Curious what you think about this. Like the Aurora shooter vs. the puke in Isla Vista.)

Hi from me too CARIIS.