FIVE PEOPLE HAVE been killed and another wounded in a shooting in the suburbs of the Canadian city of Toronto, police have said.

The suspect also died after an exchange of fire with law enforcement, local police chief Jim MacSween told reporters, saying the shooting took place in an apartment building.

The injured person was taken to hospital and their life is not in danger.

Police were called to the site early yesterday evening.

“Once the officers arrived, they were met with … a horrendous scene where numerous victims were deceased,” MacSween told reporters, according to Canadian media.

Police were investigating the motive and whether there was a connection between the victims and the male suspect, who has not been named.

The suspect allegedly acted alone.

The victims were found in different apartments in the building, which is located in Vaughan, in the suburbs about 30 kilometers north of Toronto.

Residents were evacuated immediately and dozens of ambulances and police officers were at the scene in the evening, Canadian media said.

While it suffers far fewer mass shootings than its American neighbour, Canada has experienced an upsurge in gun violence, which has prompted it to recently legislate to ban handguns.

In April 2020, a gunman disguised as a policeman killed 22 people in the eastern province of Nova Scotia, Canada’s worst mass shooting.

In September this year, a man killed 11 people and stabbed 18 others, mainly in an isolated indigenous community in Saskatchewan province.

Firearms-related violent crimes account for less than three percent of all violent crimes in Canada – but since 2009 the per capita rate of guns being fired with intent to kill or wound has increased five-fold.

Canada banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms in May 2020, days after the Nova Scotia shooting.

© AFP 2022