Canadian Police Sniper Ends Hostage Situation With Head Shot
............  

COLIN PERKEL
Associated Press

TORONTO (CP) -- A police marksman shot and killed a man holding a woman passerby at gunpoint in front of busy Union Station at the height of Wednesday's morning rush hour, leaving the hostage shaken but unharmed and the normally bustling area eerily quiet.

The dramatic hostage-taking ended with a bullet to the gunman's head as television cameras clearly captured every moment of the violent takedown and hundreds of horrified office workers looked on in disbelief.

``I was dumbfounded. I didn't believe it. It's what you see on television. It doesn't happen in real life,'' said Susan Cormier, who works in a stockbrokers' office.

The random hostage-taking, which brought traffic in a wide swath of the city's downtown to a standstill, followed an 8 a.m. incident in which a man fired shots in the concourse of the TD Centre highrise.

The man was firing at his estranged wife who was on her way to work, police said.

The shots sent terrified food-court patrons scuttling for cover. One owner of a restaurant even hustled his family and employees into the walk-in freezer.

The estranged wife was not badly hurt, received only a few stitches to the head, and was being kept in hospital for observation, police said.

Minutes after the gunfire was reported to police, an officer spotted the wanted man walking from the scene.

``He confronted the individual and immediately upon doing that, the suspect ran,'' said Police Chief Julian Fantino.

The 45-year-old suspect from the bedroom community of Ajax just east of the city then grabbed a woman on the sidewalk just outside the hectic train station.

``He just grabbed her,'' said a newspaper seller called Dave.

``Everybody else left the area and more police came. Nobody said anything other than police saying, `Drop the gun. Drop the gun.' ''

Heavily armed tactical police officers surrounded the scene and spent about 40 minutes trying to negotiate with the man, who was about six-feet tall, heavy set and well dressed in a sports shirt.

They were unsuccessful.

Concerned the situation would escalate and others could be hurt, the marksman fired a single shot, killing the suspect as hundreds of bewildered office workers frantically made cell-phone calls from the scene.

``I was standing and watching the police officers hiding behind a wall with their guns drawn and then suddenly a big bang,'' said Conrad Zaleski, 52, who works in the area.

``The police officers just got up and started running towards Union Station. All the police drew their guns, ambulances started moving.''

The hostage, a woman in her early 20s whose name was not released, walked away from the scene, traumatized but otherwise unscathed.

Police held red sheets around the body to prevent onlookers from seeing the man until he was taken away in an ambulance, at which point fire crews moved in to clean up the area.

``Literally, you could see his brain fly all over the place,'' said one man who watched the sniper's bullet find its mark.

``Like you see (such things) in a movie and you're all cool. It's not cool. It's not cool at all.''

Police cleared out the area, leaving the normally bustling hub almost deserted at a time when thousands of workers make their way to their offices.

Main roads were in gridlock as cars were diverted from the scene, a stone's throw from the skyscrapers that populate Toronto's financial district.

Fantino, who called the outcome ``regrettable and unfortunate,'' said the officer had to take out the armed suspect.

``We had a situation that is very, very volatile, extremely dangerous. There was no choice,'' Fantino said.

``(Police) eliminated a very serious threat to citizens and themselves.''

The provincial Special Investigations Unit, which probes all cases of serious injury or death involving police, was called in to review the killing.

``In this case it's not so much a whodunit, but more, why it happened, how it occurred, and what all the circumstances were surrounding the officer's shooting of this man,'' said SIU spokeswoman Rose Bliss.

The hospital released a statement from the family of the estranged wife.

``The situation is an unfortunate one and we are very disturbed by it,'' the statement read.

``We came close to losing a family member. We are asking that you respect our privacy at this time. Our main concern is for our family member to get the appropriate care.''

The woman was surrounded by a large group of family members Wednesday afternoon and was listed in stable condition, hospital officials said.

The hostage's family issued a statement through the hospital thanking police for their efforts.

The provincial GO bus station at Union Station was closed for several hours but subway traffic was largely unaffected.

Premier Dalton McGuinty expressed relief that the hostage was unharmed but Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter said emergency procedures around Union Station, the central point for all rail traffic in the region, may need to be reviewed.


Cops cant shoot for shit.

Sucks to be him.

nice shot , man!

Hmmmm, I wonder what the last thing to go through this guy's head before he died was.

Duh...the same type of sheeple in Canada as in the USA....that type of stuff only happens on tv/movies, it never happens in real life. Need to have gentler snipers/law enforcement who are trained to bring those incidents to a non-violent resolution. Put Skerry in charge!

That cop did some good shooting.

``Literally, you could see his brain fly all over the place,'' said one man who watched the sniper's bullet find its mark. ``Like you see (such things) in a movie and you're all cool. It's not cool. It's not cool at all.''

Oh??

Well, the cops better remember this one.

Because Canadians won't abide such violence, no sir. Such barbarism is not called for in a progressive society. Violence never solves anything.

Quoted: Hmmmm, I wonder what the last thing to go through this guy's head before he died was.

His septum.

Quoted: Hmmmm, I wonder what the last thing to go through this guy's head before he died was.

boat tail

good deal....  

Quoted: Hmmmm, I wonder what the last thing to go through this guy's head before he died was.

The Tail end of a .308/7.62 NATO FMJ From a Remington 700.

His folks are going to sue.  No doubt about it.

This Thread Is Worthless Without Video

Canadian Police are..........armed..?

gotta admit ... Buuuuwwwwwaaaahhhhh!

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+1

Quoted: Hmmmm, I wonder what the last thing to go through this guy's head before he died was.

If I had to guess I would say minimum 140some grains.

And I bet its a long ass time before some fucktard tries that shit again in Toronto! [clap]

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+2

good shot

The random hostage-taking, which brought traffic in a wide swath of the city's downtown to a standstill, followed an 8 a.m. incident in which a man fired shots in the concourse of the TD Centre highrise.

Hey! I jumped off this building twice!

as hundreds of bewildered office workers frantically made cell-phone calls from the scene.

Well that certainly an effective method to....uhhh.... what? ?
I don't get it.

Well done.

Another POS criminal takes a dirt nap, no problems there.

Quoted: Canadian Police Sniper Ends Hostage Situation With Head Shot ............   COLIN PERKEL Associated Press -snip- Premier Dalton McGuinty expressed relief that the hostage was unharmed but Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter said emergency procedures around Union Station, the central point for all rail traffic in the region, may need to be reviewed.

Like make it a crime free zone. That should do it.

Friggin idiot. THings are FINE the way they are, and now these idiots want to muck with it.

What should they do? Register all guns? Tried that.. didn't work.

Make it a crime to use a gun in a crime? Nope...

I got it... don't allow cops to handle situations like this with the appropriate amount of force!!!!

Good shootin'.

I'd say he waited about 37 minutes too long to take the shot though...

Quoted: Hmmmm, I wonder what the last thing to go through this guy's head before he died was.

like the video,  Oh dude.

Aren't guns banned in Canada??  Shouldn't that include criminals as well??

7.62 FMJ!!!!!!

Quoted: Good shootin'. I'd say he waited about 37 minutes too long to take the shot though...

37 minute may have provided time for the goblin to relax his grip, move away from his human cover slightly,  relax his finger from the trigger, possibly move the muzzle away from his shield (for example: toward a non-human target).



Don't shoot until it's right, ya' can't take it back!  




.02

Jeff

It's too bad crap like that happens but thank god for the good guys, ARMED, when things like this happened.  ARMED being the operative word here.  When are my politicians in wisconsin going to realize!!

Look for further proposed gun control laws to aimed at our northern brothers and sisters.

BTW I'd say it was a 168gr Sierra Match King Hollow Point Boat Tail, could have been a 175.

I just love stories with happy endings.  Well done officer, well done...........

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You sir, are sick.  SICK

And on that note... is there any chance of getting video?  Maybe an AVI file for slow-mo??  Anyone?  Any Canadians out thar?

- BUCC_Guy

Could somebody from Canada please tell me what this is?

from the bedroom community of Ajax

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+4

Quoted: Could somebody from Canada please tell me what this is? from the bedroom community of Ajax

What a bedroom community is?

Typically referrs to a city, town, county, etc, that primarily serves as a residential area for larger metropolitan areas which are primarily business/industrial. Like half of Virginia and Maryland are to DC...

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+5

Excellent shooting.

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+6

What was the distance?

Live by the sword.  Die by the sword.

Sources say no dogs were harmed in the shooting of this POS.   NICE SHOT!

the marksman fired a single shot, killing the suspect as hundreds of bewildered office workers frantically made cell-phone calls from the scene.

Who were they calling?  The police?

Sounds like good police work.  It's not fun shooting someone, but sometimes it has to be done.

One less pos in the world