Police identify suspect in Toronto shooting attack

Police at the perimeter of the scene of a mass shooting in Toronto (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press/AP) Credit: AP/Press Association Images

Police have identified the suspect in a deadly mass shooting in Toronto as 29-year-old Faisal Hussain.

The Ontario police Special Investigations Unit released his name on Monday evening. He died after an exchange of gunfire with police on Sunday night.

The attacker fired a handgun into restaurants and cafes in a lively Toronto neighbourhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounding 13 other people.

Police have not disclosed his motive. Police chief Mark Saunders said earlier on Monday that investigators did not know it yet.

The family of the suspect later said he suffered from severe mental health problems, but they “could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end”.

Hussain’s family expressed condolences in a statement. It said the family was “utterly devastated by the incomprehensible news” that the 29-year-old was responsible for the rampage.

His family said he struggled with psychosis and depression throughout his life, and medications and therapy did not work to treat him.

The relatives say their “hearts are in pieces for the victims”.