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A 48-year-old Toronto police officer was fatally shot at close range and died at the scene in an unprovoked “ambush” attack in Mississauga as part of a shooting rampage that continued into Milton and left one other person dead and three injured, police officials said Monday.
The gunman was taken into custody and pronounced dead in Hamilton. That incident is now the subject of an investigation by Ontario’s police watchdog.
“It is with profound sadness that I announce the death of Toronto Police Service Constable Andrew Hong of Traffic Services,” Toronto Police Chief James Ramer said at a news conference alongside his counterparts from Peel and Halton regions in Mississauga Monday night.
Ramer said Hong was a 22-year-veteran of the force who was also a father of two, a husband, a brother and a son. The chief said he met with the fallen officer’s family earlier today.
“I committed to his family that they will have the full support of the Toronto Police Service every day going forward,” Ramer said. “This is devastating news for his family and for all members of the Toronto Police Service and our entire policing community.”
Peel Police Chief Chief Nishan Duraiappah said the officer was in Mississauga for a training exercise and was attacked while on a break in the area of Argentia Road and Winston Churchill Boulevard, at around 2:15 p.m.
“While on lunch break, he was shot in an unprovoked and may I say an ambush attack and succumbed to his injuries,” Duraiappah said. “In the same incident, a second innocent victim suffered life-altering gunshot injuries and is currently being treated at a trauma center in the GTA.”
Following the shooting, police said they were searching for a suspect described as a Black male with a thin build and black hair who was wearing all black with a yellow construction vest. They said he was armed and dangerous and that it was “imperative” that anyone who spots the suspect or his vehicle – described as a black jeep Cherokee with licence plate # CLMZ 905 – call 911 immediately.
A short time after the first shooting, Halton police said they were investigating another shooting which occurred at an auto body shop at Main Street and Bronte Street in Milton around 2:50 p.m.
Three people were shot in that incident. Police said one of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene, while two others were transported to a regional hospital for treatment.
Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner said the surviving victims sustained critical and serious injuries, respectively.