Suspected Danforth shooter’s family cites psychosis, ‘severe mental health challenges,’ after SIU identifies him as Faisal Hussain, 29, of Toronto

According to police and witness accounts, a gunman fired upon groups of people as they were enjoying a night out in Toronto’s Greektown neighbourhood, killing a 10-year-old girl and a 18-year-old woman.

In video posted to social media, the gunman could be seen firing a handgun into a storefront near Danforth and Chester Aves.

The gunman was later killed following an exchange of gunfire with police, according to the SIU

The provincial police watchdog released Hussain’s identity in a statement after speaking with a member of his family.

“Due to the exceptional circumstances of this tragic incident and the public interest in knowing the man’s identity, the SIU is identifying the man as Faisal Hussain of Toronto,” the statement read.

In a statement, Hussain’s family said he struggled with psychosis and “severe mental health challenges” his entire life.

“We are at a terrible loss for words but we must speak out to express our deepest condolences to the families who are now suffering on account of our son’s horrific actions,” the statement read. “Our hearts are in pieces for the victims and for our city.”

Of the 15 victims shot in the rampage, eight were female. The victims range in age from 10 to 59 years old, police said.

Thirteen people remain in hospital with injuries ranging from minor to critical.

The Toronto District School Board on Monday evening identified the killed woman as Reese Fallon, 18, who lived in Toronto’s Beach neighbourhood.

Fallon’s family declined to speak to reporters, but Beaches—East York MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith shared a brief statement on their behalf.

“The family is devastated (and) asks that their privacy be respected at this time.”

Erskine-Smith told the Star outside Fallon’s home he knew her personally, adding she was “whip smart” and “cared about making a difference in the world and this is a huge loss.”

Fallon’s younger sister posted a lengthy tribute on Instagram Monday evening. “Today has been the hardest because I haven’t just lost a sister I’ve lost my lifelong bestfriend and anyone who knew us knew that when we were together we were inseparable,” she wrote.

“I am crushed and broken and there won’t be one minute that goes by for the rest of my life that I won’t think of you.”

Witness Ali Demircan, who was sitting with friends on a bench near Logan and Danforth Aves. Sunday night, told the Star he saw an injured woman who matched Fallon’s photograph during a break in the shooting.

Demican said the woman, who was holding her arm where she appeared to have been shot, approached him and asked him to call 911, but the shooting started again before he could do so.

“When I turned back there she was lying behind a small tree on Logan avenue. People were trying to help her and do CPR,” Demircan said.

“It was terrible.”

Neither police nor the SIU would speculate on a motive for the shooting.

“He received a gunshot wound, but I’m not going to expand on that,” Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders said at the Monday news conference.

Police encountered the shooter on Bowden St., between Logan and Broadview Aves., and an exchange of gunfire took place, the SIU said.

The gunman fled the area and was later found dead on Danforth Ave.

Police have not said whether he died of self-inflicted gunshots or from the gunfire with police.

The gunman was randomly shooting like someone “in a video game,” a witness told the Star.

“He was very relaxed, it was pretty disturbing,” said Lenny Graf, who was with his wife and his son, 9, and daughter, 8.

Graf’s family was having dinner at Christina’s Restaurant when his kids asked to go play at the fountain in the Alexander the Great parkette on Logan Ave.

Graf went along to supervise and when he got outside, he heard loud popping sounds.

“I thought it was firecrackers, except that people started to run away, and crouch down and scream,” Graf said.

He looked up and realized his son was crouched down near the fountain, about three metres from the shooter. He frantically looked for his daughter, who

he later learned ran back into the restaurant.

“I crouched a bit, and then I thought, ‘OK, what do I do? I crouch down, I get shot? I run, I get shot?’ ” Graf said.

The gunman, who was dressed in all black, was on the sidewalk on the north side of Danforth, near the fountain, Graf said.

“I saw him finish shooting some people and then walk away,” Graf said.

Graf said the gunman continued walking west on the Danforth. He worried the shooter would come back, so he grabbed his son and took him around to the alley, and took the back door into The Friendly Greek.

There, he coincidentally found his wife and daughter — they had also run into the restaurant to escape.

Graf said he remembers seeing someone on the ground, then seeing paramedics and police arrive.

“I always thought if I was up against a guy shooting people, I would run up and grab the gun or something, but there was no way to do that,” he said.

Jessica Young was visiting a co-worker at Second Cup when the shooting began.

“I heard a loud pop sound, I thought someone had maybe dropped something, but then I saw three of the customers that were sitting outside start running in a flurry,” Young said.

“And they were just saying, get behind the counters and it registered that it was probably a gun sound. So I got down and then I looked to my side and I see the shooter through the window. He sees me or he sees my co-worker or someone, and shoots through the window.”

Luckily, nobody in the coffee shop was hit. Young said the shooter was wearing a black baseball cap and black clothes with light skin.

“I was shaken, terrified I guess,” she said. “It’s not every day you almost get shot.”

Androo Leipurts was bartending at Brass Taps pub when he heard a loud commotion and looked out the window to see people running. He saw a woman running, then fall to the ground.

“I essentially saw someone’s daughter drop to the ground and roll,” he said.

Mayor John Tory, who headed to the shooting scene Sunday night, offered his condolences to families of the victims and urged residents not to jump to conclusions about what transpired and why.

In a statement, Tory called the shooting a “despicable act.”

“On behalf of all Toronto residents, I am outraged that someone has unleashed such a terrible attack on our city and people innocently enjoying a Sunday evening,” Tory said.

“. . . While our city will always be resilient in the face of such attacks, it does not mean such a cowardly act committed against our residents is any less painful — this is an attack against innocent families and our entire city.”

Danforth Ave. was closed between Broadview and Pape Aves. until shortly after 5:30 p.m.

The normally vibrant strip of the Danforth was eerily quiet in the morning, hours after the shooting. There were no parents walking their children to day camp, no businesses open and no one was grabbing pastries from the local coffee shops.

No one was allowed inside except for a few business owners escorted by police to grab belongings. All morning, residents stopped, stared, shook their heads and muttered words like “unbelievable” and “isn’t this crazy?”

Neighbours traded information and shared shock over the shooting.

Manusos Kafkalas, who works at Logo Cafe, was outside, next to the patio smoking when he heard shots ring out.

“I turn around to see what’s happening, and this guy looks right at us and starts shooting,” Kafkalas said.

Kafkalas said he couldn’t make out the features of the gunman, who was across the Danforth when he raised his gun and fired. But he heard the bullets whiz by and hit the wall behind him.

“The bullets went between me and my friends,” he said. “We were lucky enough that no one was hit.”

Simryn Fenby said her uncle was at Bowden St. and Danforth Ave. when the man he believed to be the shooter approached him.

“This guy was walking towards him and told him ‘I’m not going to shoot you’ and then told him to get out of his way,” Fenby said. “And then he fired at two people coming out of 7Numbers.”

Fenby’s uncle ducked behind a car “and heard four to five shots.”

Andrew Mantzios had stopped for coffee with friends at Leonadis near the Alexander the Great statue.

At around 10 p.m. he was heading to his car to go home.

“As I was standing by the fountain I heard rapid gunfire and saw the gun discharge,” he said Monday morning, still visibly shaken.

He turned and saw a skinny man dressed all in black firing shots into the crowd on the northeast corner of Logan and Danforth with a black gun like “he ones that you see on the movies.”

Someone yelled out they had to get down.

“Everybody was falling down and somebody pushed me,” he said. “I saw people being hit by bullets and falling outside the Leonidas Cafe.”

A prayer gathering is scheduled for Monday night at 7 p.m., at Calvary Church of Toronto on Pape Ave. — north of Danforth Ave.

The Toronto Police Services Board thanked the first responders to the scene.

“We commend those police officers who immediately responded to deal with the situation, courageously and professionally, as well as those who continue to work diligently in the aftermath of the shooting, conducting a comprehensive investigation,” the board said in a statement.

Three patients were taken to Sunnybrook hospital. Five were taken to St. Michael’s hospital with injuries ranging from serious to critical. Three of the patients at St. Mike’s underwent “immediate, life-saving surgery.”

Michael Garron hospital, formerly the Toronto East General Hospital, treated two gunshot victims, who are in stable condition. The hospital also treated five others who were hurt, but they have since been released.

Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, said he has spoken to the officers who responded and they are “shaken up,” but likely prevented further deaths, he said.