In a shooting that took place in the Toronto suburbs, five people were killed and another was injured.
Police Chief Jim MacSween told reporters that the shooting occurred in an apartment complex and that the suspect also passed away on Sunday after exchanging gunfire with law enforcement personnel.
A hospital was visited by the injured person, who had non-life-threatening wounds.
Sunday night, police were called to the scene.
“Once the officers arrived they were met with … a horrendous scene where numerous victims were deceased,” MacSween told reporters.
Police are investigating the motive and whether there was a connection between the victims and the male suspect, who has not been named. The suspect allegedly acted alone.
The victims were found in different apartments in the building, which is located in Vaughan, in the suburbs about 30km (20 miles) north of Toronto.
Residents were evacuated immediately and dozens of ambulances and police officers were at the scene.
Canada has experienced a surge in gun violence, which has prompted it to recently legislate to ban handguns.
In April 2020, a gunman disguised as a policeman killed 22 people in the eastern province of Nova Scotia, Canada’s worst mass shooting.
In September this year, a man stabbed 11 people to death and wounded 18 others, mainly in an isolated Indigenous community in Saskatchewan province.
Firearms-related violent crimes account for less than 3 percent of all violent crimes in Canada – but since 2009, the per capita rate of guns being fired with intent to kill or wound has increased five-fold.
Canada banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms in May 2020, days after the Nova Scotia shooting.