sniffy
Senior Reporter
9
Toronto the great comoposlitan monkey town. Nig holds a gun to head of a female hostage on a busy street corner. See pic below.
Aug. 25, 2004. 02:17 PM
CURTIS RUSH
STAFF REPORTER
A gunman has been shot dead by a police sniper and his hostage freed after a rush-hour standoff outside of Union Station on Front St. this morning.
After a tense confrontation between the suspect and dozens of heavily armed officers, a member of the Emergency Task Force made the decision to shoot the suspect. The gunman was felled by a fatal shot to the head at 8:50 a.m. The female hostage, believed to be in her early 20s, was unharmed.
<br
The same gunman is suspected of shooting a woman in the food court of the nearby TD Centre only minutes before the hostage taking.
The first shooting took place around 8:10 a.m. in the busy concourse of the
downtown skyscraper at 100 Wellington St. W.
Eli Nov, who owns
a restaurant in the food court, says he recognized the sound of gunshots immediately.
Nov, a former Israeli soldier, heard "two pops" and quickly hustled his family and employees into the walk-in freezer of his countertop eatery, Pumpernickel Catering.
Inside the freezer, Nov's wife phoned 911 and reported a shooting.
After a few minutes, Nov emerged alone and saw a woman lying on the ground bleeding from the head.
"She didn't say she was shot. She just asked for a pillow," Nov said. "It was just a scratch, but it was gushing blood."
Emergency personnel rushed the woman to hospital. She was conscious on arrival and Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter la
ter said she was "injured, but slightly."
Canadian Press reported that the victim was the suspect's wife, and that the suspect was a 45-year-old from Ajax.
Shortly afterwards, a Toro
nto police officer on duty near the Royal York Hotel heard the details of the attack over his radio and spotted a suspect walking nearby.
He c
onfronted the suspect and tried to talk to him, but the man quickly grabbed a hostage.
The ETF arrived soon after and spent 30 or 40 minutes trying to negotiate with the man. He continued to point the gun at the woman and police as they talked.
"This was an extremely dangerous situation in a very public place," police Chief Julian Fantino said later. "You have to take first and foremost into account the safety of the public"
Fantino said the ETF officer made a decision to shoot the man fearing for the safety of the woman, police and passersby.
Literally, you could see his brain fly all over the place, one wi
tness told Canadian Press. Like you see (such things) in a movie and you're all cool. It's not cool. It's not cool at all.
Police put a tarp over the body, which was removed nearly three hours late
r.
Hundreds of stunned onlookers watched the scene play out on one of the city's busiest streets.
"It was an unbelievable thing to see. It was like something out of
a movie," bank employee Oroosh Sheikh said.
Front St. between Bay and York Sts. will be closed for most of the afternoon as the investigation continues. Police are advising motorists to avoid the area.
GO trains and buses are operating normally. Union Station remains open, but travellers must enter through the lower concourse or Bay St. entrances.
Rose Bliss, spokesperson for the Special Investigations Unit, said investigators are talking to the family of the dead man, the hostage, as well as the woman who was taken to St. Michael's Hospital with head injuries.
She said the SIU is also
talking to officers at 52 Division. Bliss said the fact that the incident was played out in full view of thousands of people won't make the investigation any easier.
Toronto the great comoposlitan monkey town. Nig holds a gun to head of a female hostage on a busy street corner. See pic below.
Aug. 25, 2004. 02:17 PM
CURTIS RUSH
STAFF REPORTER
A gunman has been shot dead by a police sniper and his hostage freed after a rush-hour standoff outside of Union Station on Front St. this morning.
After a tense confrontation between the suspect and dozens of heavily armed officers, a member of the Emergency Task Force made the decision to shoot the suspect. The gunman was felled by a fatal shot to the head at 8:50 a.m. The female hostage, believed to be in her early 20s, was unharmed.
<br
The same gunman is suspected of shooting a woman in the food court of the nearby TD Centre only minutes before the hostage taking.
The first shooting took place around 8:10 a.m. in the busy concourse of the
downtown skyscraper at 100 Wellington St. W.
Eli Nov, who owns
a restaurant in the food court, says he recognized the sound of gunshots immediately.
Nov, a former Israeli soldier, heard "two pops" and quickly hustled his family and employees into the walk-in freezer of his countertop eatery, Pumpernickel Catering.
Inside the freezer, Nov's wife phoned 911 and reported a shooting.
After a few minutes, Nov emerged alone and saw a woman lying on the ground bleeding from the head.
"She didn't say she was shot. She just asked for a pillow," Nov said. "It was just a scratch, but it was gushing blood."
Emergency personnel rushed the woman to hospital. She was conscious on arrival and Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter la
ter said she was "injured, but slightly."
Canadian Press reported that the victim was the suspect's wife, and that the suspect was a 45-year-old from Ajax.
Shortly afterwards, a Toro
nto police officer on duty near the Royal York Hotel heard the details of the attack over his radio and spotted a suspect walking nearby.
He c
onfronted the suspect and tried to talk to him, but the man quickly grabbed a hostage.
The ETF arrived soon after and spent 30 or 40 minutes trying to negotiate with the man. He continued to point the gun at the woman and police as they talked.
"This was an extremely dangerous situation in a very public place," police Chief Julian Fantino said later. "You have to take first and foremost into account the safety of the public"
Fantino said the ETF officer made a decision to shoot the man fearing for the safety of the woman, police and passersby.
Literally, you could see his brain fly all over the place, one wi
tness told Canadian Press. Like you see (such things) in a movie and you're all cool. It's not cool. It's not cool at all.
Police put a tarp over the body, which was removed nearly three hours late
r.
Hundreds of stunned onlookers watched the scene play out on one of the city's busiest streets.
"It was an unbelievable thing to see. It was like something out of
a movie," bank employee Oroosh Sheikh said.
Front St. between Bay and York Sts. will be closed for most of the afternoon as the investigation continues. Police are advising motorists to avoid the area.
GO trains and buses are operating normally. Union Station remains open, but travellers must enter through the lower concourse or Bay St. entrances.
Rose Bliss, spokesperson for the Special Investigations Unit, said investigators are talking to the family of the dead man, the hostage, as well as the woman who was taken to St. Michael's Hospital with head injuries.
She said the SIU is also
talking to officers at 52 Division. Bliss said the fact that the incident was played out in full view of thousands of people won't make the investigation any easier.