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‘Don’t Worry.’ Toronto Gunman’s Remark Is Revealed in Police Records.

TORONTO — Faisal Hussain, the gunman who staged a deadly rampage in Toronto this summer, had four cellphones in his bedroom and another on him. The police found what appeared to be cocaine in a drawer under his bed. And while Hussain stood over a woman and shot her four times, he waved a man in his path away, casually saying, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to shoot you.”

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By
Catherine Porter
, New York Times

TORONTO — Faisal Hussain, the gunman who staged a deadly rampage in Toronto this summer, had four cellphones in his bedroom and another on him. The police found what appeared to be cocaine in a drawer under his bed. And while Hussain stood over a woman and shot her four times, he waved a man in his path away, casually saying, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to shoot you.”

These are a few of the details revealed in three police requests for search warrants that were unsealed by a Toronto judge Thursday.

Hussain, 29, shattered the calm of a July night, opening fire on a busy Toronto street and sending diners in restaurants and packed patios scurrying for cover. He continued his shooting spree as he walked, aiming at people enjoying the summer evening. By the time he exchanged gunfire with the police and shot himself in the head, he had killed two people and injured 13 more.

While the police documents paint a clearer picture of the terror Hussain caused that night, and the lonely life he lived, they leave many important questions unanswered: What was Hussain’s motive? And was he was connected to others?

Along with the cellphones, the police seized two iPads and two laptop computers from the apartment where Hussain lived with his parents. What was found on the devices was not revealed, and the police say their investigation is continuing.

The day after Hussain’s rampage, his parents issued a statement that said their son had suffered from severe, lifelong mental health problems, including psychosis and depression, and that interventions from professionals or medication were unsuccessful.

Shortly after, the Islamic State’s news agency issued a bulletin claiming the attacker had been inspired by the terrorist group. The Canadian minister of public safety, however, said that the attack did not appear to be a national security issue.

The police requests for the warrants, which were unsealed after The New York Times and several Canadian news organizations argued in court for their release, reveal that Hussain did not have a criminal record. Two days before his murderous rampage, however, Hussain was arrested for shoplifting but not charged.

The requests also reveal three 2010 reports about him as an emotionally disturbed person. That same year, the police said, he was suspected of marijuana trafficking.

His twin brother told the police that Hussain had robbed a store with a gun, but there was no police record of that.

The descriptions of Hussain in the police warrant requests reveal a lonely man with no friends and no hobbies besides staying in his room and playing on the computer. He reluctantly attended mosque on Fridays with his father, his family told the police, and traveled to Islamabad a few years ago to visit family. His father said he enjoyed the trip but did not want to return. He worked two jobs, at a pharmacy and a grocery store, and had never had a girlfriend, both his parents said.

After he shot himself, Hussain’s cellphone began to ring, with the word “home” flashing on its screen. The police answered it and spoke to his rattled parents, who agreed to meet them at the station. They said they had no idea about their son’s dark intentions when he left their apartment that night dressed in black and carrying his regular shoulder bag.

Witnesses told the police they watched Hussain change the magazine on his firearm and, at one point, stand over a female and shoot her four times. One described him as “smiling as he was shooting.”

The two people killed that night were female — one a 10-year-old girl at a restaurant with her family and the other an 18-year-old high school graduate out celebrating with friends over ice cream.

Whether Hussain targeted women is not clear. His other victims were split along gender lines, and ranged in age from 17 to 59.

Guns are more strictly controlled in Canada, and gun violence is less common than in large U.S. cities. But a recent spate of shootings in Toronto has led Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to assign a minister to examine a potential ban on handguns and assault weapons.

Last April, 10 people were killed in Toronto when the driver of a rental van struck dozens of pedestrians on a sidewalk. The man accused of driving the van had posted a message hostile to women online only moments before the rampage began, the police said.

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