Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah, along with Halton Regional Police Chief Steve Tanner and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, provided a detailed briefing Thursday morning on the incident at Peel Regional Police Headquarters. The shooting, which took place in Mississauga, Halton and Hamilton, left Toronto police Const. Andrew Hong and Milton body shop owner Shakeel Ashraf were killed and three others were injured. Police said Thursday that a 28-year-old student who worked part-time at the store was injured in the shooting and is not expected to live. “We are not releasing his name at this time out of respect for his family, but expect to do so at a future date and time,” Chief Tanner said. “The third victim, a 43-year-old man, was also an MK car repair worker. He was shot in the leg and has since been released from the hospital and continues to recover at home.” Another Mississauga shooting victim is in stable condition but suffered life-changing injuries, police said.
SUSPECT IDENTIFIED, HAS AN EXECUTIVE CRIMINAL RECORD
During the press conference, police confirmed the identity of the gunman as 40-year-old Sean Petrie, of no fixed address. Duraiappa said Petrie was known to police and had an “extensive criminal record”, including convictions for assault, armed robbery, carrying a firearm and possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm. In March 2007, Petrie was placed on the national flagging system after being deemed “high risk” to reoffend for an offense that occurred in 2005. Petrie’s last conviction was in 2015 for a criminal driving offence, according to police. “I can also say that investigators interviewed known family of Mr. Petrie and learned that he was estranged from them, and depending on which family member they spoke to, for a period of anywhere from one to over five years,” Duraiappah said. Police released a photo of Petrie along with a photo of the red Corolla he was driving when he arrived at the Tim Hortons. “Investigators also learned that prior to the start of this tragedy Sean Petrie drove to the location where Constable Hong was murdered in a red Toyota Corolla, where he parked the vehicle in an adjacent lot to the coffee shop. The car had an Ontario license plate CXMM 077,” Duraiappah said. Police are asking anyone with information about Petrie, the incident or the activities leading up to it to contact them anonymously at 905-453-2121, extension 3205 or Crime Stoppers.
NEW TOUR SCHEDULE DETAILS REVEALED
On Monday, around 2:15 p.m., Peel police officers responded to a shooting at a Tim Hortons on Argentia Street, near Winston Churchill Avenue, in Mississauga. Upon arrival, officers found Const. Hong died. Duraiappah said the suspect “laid an ambush and shot him at close range.” Hong was in Mississauga to instruct a motorcycle training course sponsored by Peel police and was grabbing coffee for his colleagues while on his lunch break at the time of the shooting. “The first responding officers were a combination of Constable Hong’s colleagues who were training with him at the time, as well as other subsequent officers from Peel Regional Police,” Duraiappah said. The 48-year-old had worked for Toronto police for the past 22 years and is survived by his wife, two teenage children and his parents. Police revealed Thursday that the gunman arrived at the cafe two hours and 15 minutes before shooting Hong. After Hong was killed, the suspect immediately left the scene and fled across the street to an adjacent parking lot where he shot and grabbed another victim. Less than an hour later, Halton police said the suspect drove to MK Auto Body Repairs in Milton and shot three people. The shop owner, Ashraf, was pronounced dead at the scene. The 38-year-old was a husband and father of two young daughters Police said the suspect then fled the scene but was located a short time later at a cemetery in Hamilton. “At that time, an altercation took place between the suspect, Sean Petrie, and members of the Hamilton and Halton Police Services. As a result, the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene,” Tanner said. The Special Investigations Unit is investigating the incident. A funeral for Ashraf was held in Mississauga on Wednesday and a funeral for Hong is currently being planned.
