The Islamic State claimed responsibility Wednesday for a gunman’s rampage in Toronto that killed two people and wounded 13 more, but Police Chief Mark Saunders said there was no evidence to support the claim.
Faisal Hussain, 29, sparked chaos Sunday night when he opened fire on a busy thoroughfare of bars and restaurants in the city’s Greektown neighborhood.
Minutes after the attack, Hussain died following a shootout with police. Saunders has not revealed whether police or Hussain fired the fatal bullet.
Reuters, citing the Islamic State’s AMAQ news agency, said the militant group identified Hussain as a “soldier of the Islamic State and carried out the attack in response to calls to target the citizens of the coalition countries.”
The U.S. and Canada are among nations combating an ISIS effort to establish a caliphate across a swath of Syria and Iraq.
Toronto Chief Mark Saunders said Wednesday that there is “no evidence” to support Islamic State’s claims.
Hussain’s family, in a statement Monday, said Hussain suffered from “severe” mental illness and had been “struggling with psychosis and depression his entire life.”
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