Newly unsealed police documents are shedding more light this week on the man responsible for killing two people and injuring 13 others in a mass shooting in Toronto's Greektown neighbourhood this summer.
Faisal Hussain, 29, is believed to have died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on July 22 after carrying out what has come to be known as the Danforth Shooting.
Not much was known about Hussain at the time of the incident — at least not publicly — though his parents did write in a statement on July 23 that their son had been struggling with "severe mental health challenges" for most of his life.
As it turns out, there's a lot more to the story of how Hussain came to kill 10-year-old Julianna Kozis and 18-year-old Reese Fallon on the Danforth just under two months ago.
#BREAKING | Newly released court documents on Danforth shooter Faisal Hussain show he was arrested and released unconditionally for shoplifting just 2 days before shooting rampage. @globalnewsto pic.twitter.com/IWe7DrLZBb
— Kamil Karamali (@KamilKaramali) September 20, 2018
Ontario Superior Court Judge David Corbett unsealed three search warrant applications related to the case on Thursday after months of petitioning from lawyers working for local media outlets.
These court documents show that Hussain had been arrested for shoplifting just two days before the Danforth shooting and released unconditionally. It was not his first brush with the law.
Long before the shooting, back in May and June of 2010, Hussain had three encounters with police in which he was classified as an "emotionally disturbed person."
Police records suggest that, at that time, Hussain was "apprehended because of his level of depression and fascination with death, violence and explosions."
His twin brother later told investigators that Hussain had "robbed a store with a gun, called the police to say he wanted to kill himself, and has been on anti-depressants." Police found cocaine in Hussain's possession when he died.
His older brother, Farad, who has been suspected of dealing drugs, has been in a coma since June 2017 after overdosing on cocaine and what might have been carfentanil.
Faisal Hussain pulled out a gun on a summer night in Toronto and shot 15 people, killing two. After exchanging gunfire with the police, he shot himself in the head. Then his cell phone rang with the word "home" flashing on its screen. https://t.co/1gQdh8thmt
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) September 21, 2018
Based on interviews with family members, police wrote in one of the warrant applications that "Faisal Hussain's only companions appear to be his parents."
He reluctantly went to mosque on Fridays with his father, but is said to have showed "little interest in religion."
On the day of the shooting, his twin brother (whose name is not public) is said to have spoken to Hussain "about getting his life together, getting married and getting direction."
"In the past, Faisal has listened to him," reads the document, "but this time he called himself 'mentally retarded' numerous times and went to the balcony for a cigarette."
Police found a number of mobile phones, laptops and tablets upon searching Hussain's residence, where he lived with his parents, but have yet to reveal what was found on them.
The search warrant indicated that police were also looking for weapons, ammunition, explosives, planning documents and "any literature or documents depicting hate, extremism, terrorism or similar belief or following."
It is yet to be revealed what motivated Hussain's deadly attack, but one of the newly-released court documents does say that a witness saw him "smiling as he was shooting."
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
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