International student injured in deadly GTA shootings not expected to survive: police

A 28-year-old international student injured in Monday's shootings across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area remains on life support and is not expected to survive, HaltonPolice Chief Steve Tanner told reporters on Thursday.

The man was working at an auto body shop in Milton when he was shot. The owner of the shop, Shakeel Ashraf, 38, was killed, while Toronto police Const. Andrew Hong, 48, was fatally shot about half an hour earlier in Mississauga. Two other victims were also shot over the course of the afternoon and sustained various degrees of injuries.

Police have identified Sean Petrie, 40, as the suspect in the shootings. Petrie himself was later killed during an encounter with police in theHamilton Cemetery.

Tanner spoke to media at a news conference alongside Peel Regional Police ChiefNishanDuraiappah and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie. Officials provided more details about the series of shootings that unfolded over several hours on Monday afternoon and appealed to the public for information about Petrie.

Petrie had a long criminal history that included convictions forassault, armed robbery and other violent offences, Duraiappah said. In 2007 he was placed on a national registry as someone with a high likelihood to reoffend in connection with an incident two years earlier.

He was estranged from his family,Duraiappahadded, and was briefly employed at the auto shop owned by Ashraf.

Petrie allegedly used a handgun in the shootings, which is now in the possession of Ontario's police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, as part of their probe into his fatal interaction with police in a Hamilton cemetery.

Investigators are still trying to piece together a clear motive for the shootings, though they believe Hong the first of the victims to be shotwas targeted because he was a uniformed police officer.

Hong was inside a Tim Hortons location onArgentia Road inMississauga at the time.Hewas in Peel for a joint training exercise and was on his lunch break. He had gone to get coffee for his colleagues when he was ambushed by Petrie and shot at close range at around 2:15 p.m.,Duraiappah said.

Police said he attempted to disarm Hong before shooting him. Hong was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to investigators, Petriehad been at the coffee shop for about two hours and 15 minutes beforehand. He arrived in a red Toyota Corolla with licence plateCXMM 077 and parked in an adjacent lot before entering. The car was registered to Petrie, police said. Investigators believe he had been living in the vehicle.

Petrie then stole another vehicle and shot the driver. That victim is in stable condition in hospital, but suffered "life altering" injuries, saidDuraiappah.

Petrie then droveto the Milton auto shop, where at around 2:50 p.m.he shot Ashrafand two employees the international student and a 43-year-old man who has since been released from hospital.

Afterward, Petrie made his way to Hamilton, though police said they are not sure why. At around 4:30 p.m., officers from Halton and Hamilton encountered him in a cemetery and Petrie was killed.

In her comments to the media, Crombie stressed that employees of Tim Hortons and the auto shop, as well as civilians who witnessed the shootings, wereleft deeply traumatized and said support services are available to them.

'I was just waiting to die': victim

MK Auto Repairs employee MuhammadShiraz Afzalsayson a regular day, you can usually hear the sounds of hammering andwelding in the auto shop.

This past Monday, it took only moments before heand a customer he was helping realized the sounds they heard wereactually someone firing a gun.

Afzalremembers Petrie appearing"very aggressive."He says Petrie fired multiple shots one went betweenhis legs, another missed his head, and a third lodged itself in his leg.

A bullet struck the international student, who Afzal said was trying to run away. It was only when he heard the gun click empty did he himself try to escape.

"I was just putting my head down on the desk, and I was just waiting to die," Afzal told CBC Toronto.

Afzalsayshis boss was a very kind and caringperson who wouldwork on people's cars, even if they couldn't afford to pay for the service right away.

Funeral for officer to be held Wednesday

Toronto police say funeral services for Hong will be held Sept. 21 at noon.

The funeral is not open to the public, but those wishing to pay their respects are invited to observe the procession as it travels from Kane-Jarrett Funeral Home on Yonge Street to the Toronto Congress Centre.

Meanwhile,books of condolence are being made available to allow the public to pay respects to Hong.

Police say members of the public who want to offer condolences to Hong's family and colleagues can visit its headquarters and its traffic services building, or share their thoughts on its website.

The service provided the following locations and times for the public:

Traffic Services,9 Hanna Ave.:Sept.15 to Sept.20 from8a.m. to8p.m.

TPSHeadquarters, 40 College St.:

• Sept.15 andSept.16: 7a.m. to9p.m.
• Sept.17 andSept.18: 9a.m. to5p.m.
• Sept.19 and Sept.20: 7a.m. to9p.m.

Onlineathttps://www.tps.ca/andrew-hong/

Police say they will announce details about Hong's funeral later on Thursday.

Hong was a 22-year veteran of the Toronto police force, having spent the past 19 years with traffic services where he worked with a highly specialized motorcycle unit that provides security escorts for dignitaries like prime ministers and presidents.