TORONTO — Three people were killed in what Canadian police on Thursday called a homicide that may have involved a crossbow.
Officers arrived at a home in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough and found two people without vital signs. A third person was found with significant injuries and taken to a hospital.
Police said all three people – two men and a woman – were later pronounced dead.
A fourth person, a 35-year-old man, was also injured.
Constable David Hopkinson said all three victims had what appeared to be crossbow wounds and a crossbow was found on the floor nearby. Constable Jennifer Sidhu says there were other “things” found in the area that could have been used in the incident. She declined to elaborate.
Police said a suspect is in custody but that it’s very early in the investigation.
Sadiya Haque, who lives nearby, said she was surprised this happened in her usually tranquil neighborhood, adding that most of the people who live on that street are seniors.
Det. Sgt. Mike Carbone said there was a link between the crossbow scene and a suspicious package investigation in a condo on Toronto’s waterfront. The condo was evacuated as police cordoned off the area. Carbone said he understands the package has been cleared but declined to discuss what was found.
Unlike guns, buying a crossbow does not require a license in Canada.
In December 2010, a man fired a bolt into his father’s back at a Toronto public library branch in another crossbow incident that captured the city’s attention. In that case, Zhou Fang then crushed his 52-year-old father’s skull with a hammer.
Fang was initially charged with first-degree murder but the prosecution accepted a plea of second-degree murder after considering that he was the victim of long-term abuse at the hands of his father.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 2012.