Toronto Police say they have charged a 35-year-old man with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with a crossbow shooting that left three people dead and another person seriously injured in the Scarborough Village area Thursday afternoon.
Two men and a woman were killed and a fourth person was rushed to hospital with serious injuries after someone discharged a crossbow near the corner of Lawndale and Argo roads, northwest of Kingston and Markham roads, shortly before 1 p.m.
Police said that the person who called 911 to report the incident is one of the deceased.
Post-mortem examinations on the bodies of those killed will be conducted on Friday, police said.
A neighbour said that he heard screaming coming from a home before police discovered the bodies of those killed.
A total of three homes were being examined as part of the investigation on Thursday.
Later in the afternoon on Thursday, police headed to a condo tower at 218 Queens Quay on the Harbourfront to secure a suspicious package.
Supt. Bill Neadles said there was a link between the deaths and the package found in a unit on the 14th floor of the condo tower, but would not specify the nature of the link.
The condo suite where the package was found has been sealed until police can return with a search warrant.
A suspect identified as Brett Ryan of Toronto was arrested shortly after police arrived at the scene of the homicides on Thursday.
He appeared in court in Scarborough on Friday morning, wearing white coveralls and fumbling with his fingers.
He is due to be married in September.
Ryan was remanded into custody until Sept. 2.
Police confirmed on Friday that he was arrested in June 2008 in relation to 14 bank robberies committed throughout Toronto and Durham Region.
He was dubbed the “fake beard bandit” at the time for apparently wearing a fake beard during each robbery.
Police said he was sentenced in Jan. 2009 to three years and nine months in prison.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police at 416-808-7400, or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477 (TIPS).
-- With files from the Canadian Press
