LAST UPDATE | 23 Jul 2018

A MAN CLAD in black 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 others in an attack that has shaken the confidence of many in the normally safe city.

The mass shooting late last night in Toronto’s Greektown district came just three months after a van struck and killed 10 people in an apparent attack directed toward women.

Police declined to release the name of the 29-year-old gunman from Toronto who died after an exchange of gunfire with police.

Police Chief Mark Saunders said he would not speculate on a motive but did not rule out terrorism.

“It’s almost inconceivable that these things can happen,” said Mayor John Tory. “We were so used to living in a city where these things didn’t happen and as we saw them going on in the world around us (we) thought they couldn’t happen here.”

“This is an attack against innocent families and our entire city.”

The 13 wounded ranged in age from 10 to 59, and suffered injuries ranging from serious to minor, Saunders said. He did not name the victims, who included eight women and girls, and seven men.

Dr Najma Ahmed of St. Michael’s Hospital said five patients had been admitted in serious or critical condition and that three of the five underwent immediate lifesaving operations.

A video taken by a witness showed a man dressed in black clothes and a black hat walking quickly down a sidewalk and firing three shots into at least one shop or restaurant in Toronto’s Greektown, a residential area crowded with Greek restaurants and cafes.

Witnesses heard many shots and described the suspect walking past restaurants and cafes and patios on both sides of the street and firing into them.

Ontario’s police watchdog said there was an exchange of gunfire between the assailant and two officers on a side street before the gunman was found dead near Danforth Avenue where the shootings occurred. It was not immediately clear whether he killed himself or was killed by police.

A spokeswoman for the Special Investigations Unit, Monica Hudon, would not say whether the gunman was shot dead by police and said his identity was still being confirmed. She said an autopsy would be performed tomorrow.