Toronto Man Shot Dead by Police Was Carrying a Fake Rifle: Police Watchdog

Toronto Man Shot Dead by Police Was Carrying a Fake Rifle: Police Watchdog
Police and investigators are seen at the scene of a shooting in Toronto, on May 26, 2022. Toronto police say a man has died after an interaction with officers during which a police gun was fired. The Canadian Press/Aaron Vincent Elkaim
Andrew Chen
Updated:

A Toronto man shot dead by the police on May 26 was carrying a fake rifle, which was what raised alarms and prompted several Scarborough schools to go into lockdown, an Ontario police watchdog says.

A spokesperson for Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) told reporters on May 27 that the weapon carried by the 27-year-old was a realistic-looking pellet gun.