Toronto Police say they have charged a 35-year-old man with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with a crossbow shooting that left three people dead and another person seriously injured in the Scarborough Village area Thursday afternoon.

Two men and a woman were killed and a fourth person was rushed to hospital with serious injuries after someone discharged a crossbow near the corner of Lawndale and Argo roads, northwest of Kingston and Markham roads, shortly before 1 p.m.

Police said that the person who called 911 to report the incident is one of the deceased.

Post-mortem examinations on the bodies of those killed will be conducted on Friday, police said.

A neighbour said that he heard screaming coming from a home before police discovered the bodies of those killed.

A total of three homes were being examined as part of the investigation on Thursday.

Later in the afternoon on Thursday, police headed to a condo tower at 218 Queens Quay on the Harbourfront to secure a suspicious package.

Supt. Bill Neadles said there was a link between the deaths and the package found in a unit on the 14th floor of the condo tower, but would not specify the nature of the link.

The condo suite where the package was found has been sealed until police can return with a search warrant.

A suspect identified as Brett Ryan of Toronto was arrested shortly after police arrived at the scene of the homicides on Thursday.

He is expected to appear in court at 1911 Eglinton Avenue East on Friday morning.

Police confirmed on Friday that Ryan was arrested in June 2008 in relation to 14 bank robberies committed throughout Toronto and Durham Region.

He was dubbed the “fake beard bandit” at the time for apparently wearing a fake beard during each robbery.

Police said he was sentenced in Jan. 2009 to three years and nine months in prison.

Neighbours shocked by scene

Neighbours told CTV Toronto that the owner of one of the homes under investigation is a 66-year-old woman whose husband passed away a few years ago. The woman is believed to have four adult sons. According to neighbours, the woman had plans to go to the CNE on Thursday but felt unwell and decided to stay home.

One neighbour said he opened his door to a man pleading for help.

“He said, ‘Call 9-1-1, my brother is bleeding in the driveway. Make sure the police come and find my mom’,” the neighbour told CTV Toronto. “He kept saying, ‘Make sure the police come.”

That same neighbour said he went over to the house and saw a driveway “covered in blood.”

“I gave the phone to my wife and told her I would go over and take a look. The driveway was covered in blood. So I came back to get a towel to see if I could stop the bleeding,” he said. “So I went over with a towel and looked and there was too much blood. I didn’t want to take any chances of disturbing, you know, making things worse.”

 

Many in the area are still shaken by the events.

“I have two young kids. My daughter was born last week and my son starts school next week so to have this right next door is pretty scary,” another neighbor said.

Police chief confident in public safety

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said that members of the public should not feel concerned about their safety following Thursday's events.

"Anytime there is loss of life in the city it does cause some concern but I feel confident we have some of the best investigators in the county who will do a very thorough investigation," Saunders said at an unrelated event Friday morning. "The information I have is that there is no need for any members of the public to be concerned about their safety because all involved have been apprehended."

When asked about the apparent use of a crossbow in the murders, Saunders said that regulation of the weapon depends on the government.

“That’s a discussion that needs to be held by members of government. If that’s a discussion that the public needs to have and if it’s the time for that conversation then so be it. We will enforce any laws that involve people utilizing weapons in any way shape or form,” he said.

In a statement issued to CTV News, Public Safety Canada spokesperson Jean-Philippe Levert said that crossbows with an “overall length” of 500 millimetres or less that are capable of being “aimed and fired with one hand” are prohibited in Canada.

“There are no licensing or registration requirements to possess any other type of bow, including a crossbow that is longer than 500 millimetres and that requires the use of both hands,” Levert said in the statement.