Hostage taker commits suicide by cop in Toronto

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Hostage taker commits suicide by cop in Toronto

Posted: 8/25/2004 11:40:15 AM EDT

sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1093438524038_10?hub=topstories

Woman freed, hostage taker shot dead in Toronto
CTV.ca News Staff

There was a frightening hostage-taking outside Toronto's busy Union Station on Wednesday morning. It ended with a police marksman shooting a male suspect dead.

Reports say the incident is related to an attack less than an hour earlier, where the suspect's wife was shot in the head at a nearby food court. Ontario's Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter says the woman was only slightly injured. She was conscious when she arrived at hospital.

It's expected that the suspect's wife will be discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

Austin Delaney, a reporter for CTV affiliate CFTO News, says the suspect was very calm when he took a random woman walking outside of the station hostage.

"He put a shotgun to her head and stood by a hot dog vendor and didn't say really anything to the hostage at all," Delaney said.

The suspect grabbed the woman and held her hostage after a police officer confronted him as he was walking away from the scene of the food court shooting.

Reports say the hostage-taker held the woman for about 50 minutes.

Police yelled "Drop the gun! Drop the gun!" but the man didn't listen to orders.

"Witnesses told me that he just stepped back for a split second, and the police saw their moment and an officer very, very close by fired the shot."

The suspect's identity has not been released.

Witnesses also said the situation was quite frantic. Union Station is one of Toronto's main transportation hubs and the incident happened close to rush hour time. Downtown traffic was thrown into chaos.

"The officers were trying to move people away very, very quickly from basically the heart of the financial district," Delaney said.

Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino says the suspect's death is regrettable, but officers were just doing their job by eliminating a serious threat to the public.

As in all cases where police are involved in the death of a suspect, Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has been called in, and is looking into the incident.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said he was relieved to hear the hostage was unharmed. But Kwinter added that it may be necessary to review emergency procedures around Union Station.

It will be interesting to see what spin if any the anti gunners put on this..considering he was armed with a shotgun...which has to be registered as to prevent gun violence such as this...

Posted: 8/25/2004 12:01:30 PM EDT

[#1]

Nowhere in the story does it say "suicide by cop" or anything remotely resembling those words.

What led you to your conclusion?

Posted: 8/25/2004 4:10:51 PM EDT

[#2]

Looks like good police work to save a citizens life, not "suicide by cop".

Posted: 8/25/2004 6:00:02 PM EDT

[#3]

There's a good thread on this in GD.

Edit: www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=267744

Posted: 8/26/2004 8:54:48 AM EDT

[#4]

He shot his wife then before he could get away he is surrounded by police. So he grabs a hostage and ignores repeated demands to drop his gun.
I watched the footage on TV last night. He took a good size step away from the hostage but didn't drop his sawed off shotgun.
Maybe it wasn't suicide by cop but that is the way quite a few chicken shit's like him go!

Posted: 8/26/2004 8:56:39 AM EDT

[#5]

IBTL.........glad to see a Canuck covering it though......

Posted: 8/26/2004 9:02:25 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
IBTL.........glad to see a Canuck covering it though......

Posted: 8/26/2004 6:19:16 PM EDT

[#7]

updated:

buddy was armed with a sawn off 22 rifle. Hit wife over head which caused severe bleeding. gun apparantly jammed that is why he hit her and didnt shoot her.

looks like he had a tape recorder in his car detailing what he was going to do. this may lend creedence to the suicide by cop angle. nothing confirmed yet though on content of recording.

Mark

Posted: 8/26/2004 11:46:51 PM EDT

[#8]

Suicide by cop or not...perp is dead. Good.

Posted: 8/27/2004 8:05:23 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Suicide by cop or not...perp is dead. Good.

Amen.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Hostage taker commits suicide by cop in Toronto

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