Possible bomb threat
The killing of the three, who were related, is connected, police say, with a bomb scare that took place about a one-and-a-half hours later, at about 2: 30 p.m., 20 kilometres away in the downtown Toronto area.
A condo in the city’s Queens Quay waterfront area was found to have a suspicious package in it; it was cordoned off and a chemical biological radiological nuclear (CBRN) team attended. Police eventually said there was no threat to the general public from the package. They did not say how the two crime scenes are linked.
Crossbow killings
The incident in the driveway in which three died took place in Scarborough, part of the greater-Toronto area. It began at about 1 p.m. when screams were heard from a property in a normally quiet residential area.
One neighbor, Jerome Cruz, told media the screaming lasted for five minutes and then it was quiet. He thought the troubles were over but that was not the case and minutes later a plethora of police cars arrived.
Police report that initially they thought the three people they found, one in the driveway, two in a small garage, were the victims of a stabbing by a knife, but it has since been determined they died from a crossbow; Detective Sergeant Mike Carbone said all the victims were dead when police arrived.
It’s unclear if the deceased, two men and a woman, were stabbed with a spear from a crossbow or shot by the crossbow. A 35-year-old male was placed into custody. (note that on Friday he was identified as Brett Ryan and charged with 3 counts of first-degree murder; also on Friday the dead were identified as Susan, Alexander and Christopher Ryan).
Police received a 911 call and believe one of the victims was able to make that call before dying. They have not released the names of the victims or the man taken into custody.
