Image

8:26 AM / Thursday February 13, 2025

27 Jul 2018

Toronto shooter’s neighbors unaware of his mental illness

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
July 27, 2018 Category: Week In Review Posted by:

ABOVE PHOTO:  Toronto shooting photo – surveillance camera footage  (Photo: Youtube)

 

By Tamara Lush and Rob Gillies

associated press

TORONTO — Ashley Robinson saw Faisal Hussain almost every day when she walked her dog on the winding sidewalk near her high-rise apartment building in Toronto.

“He always was smiling,” she said, adding they lived in the same building in Thorncliffe Park, a 21-story gray building that’s home to immigrants and Canadians alike.

The tall man from floor seven made a point to pet Robinson’s low-slung lab-heeler mix named Dax and would often remark that he was a good dog. “A lot of people here are afraid of my dog, but he wasn’t.”

Robinson didn’t know Hussain’s name until Monday, when she saw video of him on the news. His lanky body was clad in black. His arm calmly raised a handgun on people as they strolled in Toronto’s Greektown neighborhood on Sunday night.

“I teared up when I saw that video,” said Robinson.

Hussain killed a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman and wounded 13 other people, some seriously. Hussain was shot dead, but it’s unclear whether it was from his own gun or a bullet from police.

Authorities are investigating Hussain’s motive, but there had been no social media posts, no angry online revelations, no rambling videos.

Still, while many in the apartment complex reported seeing the 29-year-old happy and smiling, that outward cheer hid a dark struggle.

“Our son had severe mental health challenges, struggling with psychosis and depression his entire life,” his family said in a statement Monday.

Gunman can be seen firing into a restaurant in Toronto’s Greektown neighborhood; 2 people were killed and 14 injured in the shooting. (Photo: Instagram/Arielanise)

Hussain lived with his parents in the building, and neighbors said the family was Pakistani. Hussain, who was 29, was born in Canada, according to people who knew the family.

Aamir Sukhera said he was a close family friend of Hussain’s. Residents of the neighborhood said Hussain’s family has suffered other tragedies in recent years, including the death of Hussain’s sister from a car crash.

Still, friends said he was always cheerful.

“He had a million-dollar smile. He was very upbeat and happy whenever I saw him,” Sukhera said, adding that Hussain “seemed fine.”

But his family said in the statement that they’d sought treatment for him.

“The interventions of professionals were unsuccessful. Medications and therapy were unable to treat him. While we did our best to seek help for him throughout his life of struggle and pain, we could never imagine that this would be his devastating and destructive end,” they said.

On Monday, outside his apartment building, little kids ran on the grass, women gathered in groups to talk, and men stared at the building, trying to comprehend how, or why, a neighbor would do something so horrific. People from Sri Lanka, Slovakia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Canada all live in the neighborhood and normally coexist peacefully.

The area, which is considered lower-middle class by Toronto standards, is generally safe, although some residents have reported an uptick in crime.

Gun violence is almost unheard of in the area and in Toronto. The realization that a neighbor had gotten a handgun was deeply unsettling to many of Hussain’s neighbors.

“How did he get the gun?” said 39-year-old Malak Faisal, a father of two. “We live in Canada. We don’t live where buying a gun is easy.”

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Leave a Comment

Recent News

Color Of Money

Pennsylvania governor seeks more money for schools and transit, but relies heavily on surplus cash

February 10, 2025

Share Tweet Email Governor Josh Shapiro presents his 2025-26 budget proposal to the Pa. General Assembly, as...

Seniors

How Type 2 inflammation contributes to asthma, COPD, and allergic conditions

February 3, 2025

Share Tweet Email BPT Do you live with persistent, moderate-to-severe asthma, COPD, allergies, eczema or hives? Inflammation...

SUNrise

cj speaks…Celebrating in forgiveness for Black History Month

February 10, 2025

Share Tweet Email By cj “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and...

Week In Review

Black History Month explained: Its origins, celebrations and myths

February 10, 2025

Share Tweet Email This undated photo provided by the Association for the Study of African American Life...

Commentary

Commentary: The Retirement Party

January 19, 2025

Share Tweet Email President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt at Madison College, April 8, 2024,...

Health

What you need to know about glaucoma

February 10, 2025

Share Tweet Email FAMILY FEATURES More than 4.2 million Americans live with glaucoma, a leading cause of...

The Philadelphia Sunday Sun Staff