Parole documents reveal Toronto-area shooting rampage suspect had extensive criminal history
CBC
The suspect in a string of shootings that killed a Toronto police officer and an auto shop owner this week had an extensive criminal record, including ties to a gang at one point.
Parole Board of Canada documents indicate that the man believed to be behind Monday's shootings in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area had a history of robbery, drug trafficking and weapon possession, as well as gang ties.
The Special Investigations Unit has not released the suspect's name because they say his family has not provided consent.
Peel Regional Police originally identified the suspect as 30-year-old Shawn Petry in its provincewide emergency alert on Monday, which warned the public of an "active shooter, armed and dangerous." Sources close to the investigation, who aren't authorized to speak publicly, have since identified the man as Sean Petrie, 40.
The SIU has said four police officers shot at Petrie later on Monday and he died after a confrontation in a Hamilton cemetery.
Parole board documents for a Sean Petrie with the same date of birth as the suspect in Monday's shootings indicate the man was in prison in 2010 — the location is redacted in the parole documents — under medium security and subject to statutory release.
"Your offence cycle as demonstrated by your criminal history is directly linked to the negative influence of criminal others, including those involved in the gang subculture," the board wrote on Aug. 17, 2010.
"Your involvement with these associates has led to your convictions for property crimes, robbery, drug trafficking, and weapon possession."
The board said Petrie scored a -3 on the Statistical Information on Recidivism scale, which it said means "1 out of 2 offenders will not commit indictable offences after release."
The board imposed a number of conditions on Petrie's release.
Those included no contact with any gangs, including anyone affiliated with a particular gang. The gang's name was redacted.
In order to prevent him associating with that gang, the board banned Petrie from entering a swath of northwest Toronto "where the preponderance of your criminal activity has taken place."
The board also imposed a condition that he abstain from buying and taking non-prescription drugs.
"You have displayed a comfort with possessing cocaine and other narcotics for the purpose of trafficking," the board wrote. "There is also an indication of regular marijuana use that is not advantageous to your rehabilitation. You have refused institutional drug screening resulting in sanctions."
City staff would like Londoners to take a good look around their home and ask themselves a direct and possibly difficult question: Could everyone in your family survive at home, without leaving and with no other help, for a full 72 hours?
Liberal Leader Mark Carney will officially become Canada's next prime minister within a few hours, taking the reins as the country barrels toward a general election and continues to fend off verbal and economic attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Recent cyberattacks in Newfoundland and Labrador should have been a wake up call for the federal government about the reality of an increasingly hostile world, says one cybersecurity expert.
A recent CBC News analysis found that Nova Scotia is rapidly losing some of its most affordable apartments, but housing experts say there are ways to prevent that.
Premier Susan Holt is defending her decision to not use electricity exports to Maine as leverage against U.S. tariffs, arguing the move might cause long-term pain for New Brunswickers.
Montreal's St. Patrick's Day parade first started on Saint-Paul Street in 1824, and a couple centuries later, this annual tradition is still going strong.
A congregation in Carman, Man., is coming to grips with the loss of their Anglican Lutheran church, a fixture in the community that was ravaged by a fire on Thursday.
Kayla DeMong fought tears as she described the dire conditions on the front lines, pleading for more help from the province as staff at the harm reduction site she leads try to keep up with the recent spike in overdoses.
A B.C. woman who has been detained by U.S. immigration officials for 11 days, after trying to enter the country, will be released on Friday, according to her father.
Toronto is doubling the number of automated speed cameras on city streets.
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange is alleging the former CEO of Alberta Health Services was unwilling and unable to implement the government's plan to break up the health authority, became "infatuated" with her internal investigation into private surgical contracts and made "incendiary and inaccurate allegations about political intrigue and impropriety" before she was fired in January.
Hudson's Bay Company filed for creditor protection last week, saying it's struggling to pay landlords, vendors and employees — and it's a process that could lead to the sale or closure of Canada's oldest company.
Still sleepy from this week's time change?