The Toronto Sun is reporting that two men have been identified as the victims of the deadly shooting at Danforth Avenue near Jane Street in Toronto on Sunday evening, in which 11 other people were injured.
Reportedly, the gunfire erupted in a busy area that’s usually packed with people at the end of the day. A mass shooter is thought to have opened fire during an argument between two men. The Sun reports:
According to a senior police official on Wednesday, a man shot and killed both his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend, while a second man was wounded in the apparent confrontation.
Police Chief Mark Saunders said the shootings were the result of a domestic dispute between two men, and there were no links to terrorism or international gangs.
The victims have been identified as Simon Dirks, 28, and Tristan Henderson, 25. They were both pronounced dead at the scene after being shot multiple times.
Henderson’s mother later said that her son had previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
She told reporters that he left his home in Brampton with his mother on Sept. 4, the day before he was killed. She tried to get in touch with him earlier on Sunday but received no response.
Now, two of Henderson’s friends are sharing his troubled past and how he had been struggling with his mental health.
In addition to his mother, Lillian Grant said that Henderson was spending the day at his friend’s apartment when the dispute broke out.
“It was a meeting of friends because he wasn’t there,” she said. “He was supposed to be there to support Tristan. Tristan had called him to see if he could come because he was a little uneasy about seeing me or anyone else,” she added.
Another friend, Shawn Leherval said Henderson was very close to Dirks and they had spent time together in the past.
“Tristan and Simon were BFFs. They’ve been friends for many years. I can’t believe this has happened,” he said.
“He was special. He could never wait for you,” Leherval added. “He would stop, give you the first ride and wait for you at the end. He wasn’t afraid of anyone, including the cops. They’d knock on his door and he’d give them the first ride to wherever they had to go. He was like a peacemaker. He always kept your peace,” he said.
“He was just a guy you could trust. Even during the bad times, he always seemed so happy,” Leherval said.
Henderson was a math teacher at Danforth Collegiate Institute and Lee Valley Memorial High School.
Dirks, 28, worked as a security guard for DreamBuilders. “Always full of life and positive energy,” the realtor said in an Instagram post. “Thankful I could take the time to hug Simon one more time,” she wrote.
A spokesperson for CTV Toronto said they can’t comment on who was behind the shooting, citing police investigations.
Read the full story at The Toronto Sun.
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