Three adults including suspected shooter are dead at office space near daycare center in Toronto

TORONTO (AP) — A man and woman were shot to death and a male suspected as the attacker also died Monday at a north Toronto office space near a daycare center and a school, authorities said.

The shooting prompted a lockdown of both the daycare facility and the Catholic all-boys elementary school, and parents rushed to the area to pick up their children.

Detective Sgt. Al Bartlett said the man and woman who were killed worked together in what he described as financial transaction business.

“It's our belief at this point that the altercation that took place is in relation to that business,” Bartlett.

“The person that we believe to be responsible is among the deceased,” he added.

He withheld the identities of the victims and the shooter, saying officials first had to notify their families.

Bartlett declined to comment on whether the suspect killed himself or died some other way, saying it was still under investigation.

Bartlett said no child was injured. He said there was no access within the building between the daycare center and the business.

Shahrokh Biniaz, a graphic designer and photographer who has a studio in the building where the shooting happened, said he heard a load bang and people arguing in the reception area.

“I didn’t know what it was, thought it was maybe a circuit breaker or something because it was really loud,” he said.

“I came out of my office and I heard some arguments in the reception ... I went back to my desk and sat down, and I heard the second bang after two minutes.”

He said he walked out of his office again, heard more quarreling and then left the building through a back door.

“I called 911. Police came quite fast,” he said, adding he then heard another round of gunshots.

Relieved parents were seen hugging their children tight after they were reunited just outside the police tape at St. George Mini School daycare.

A supervisor told the crowd of parents gathered that everyone inside was safe.

Toronto police officers respond to a deadly shooting in north Toronto, Monday, June 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto police officers investigate reports of gunshots, in Toronto, Monday, June 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto police officers comfort a man at the scene of a shooting in Toronto, Monday, June 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto police officers comfort a man at the scene of a fatal shooting in Toronto, Monday, June 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto police officers investigate after several people died in the lobby of an office space in Toronto, Monday, June 17, 2024. Police responded to reports of gunshots in an area near a school and a daycare. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto police officers investigate after several adults died in the lobby of an office space in Toronto, Monday, June 17, 2024. Police responded to reports of gunshots in an area near a school and a daycare. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

DALLAS (AP) — Nearly 80 criminal trespass arrests stemming from a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas have been dismissed, a prosecutor said Wednesday, the latest dropped charges against demonstrators arrested on college campuses across the U.S. this spring.

Delia Garza, a Democrat who is the elected attorney for Travis County, said 79 criminal trespass cases that were dismissed all stemmed from the April 29 protest. She said cases involving other offenses remain pending.

Garza said her office determined it couldn't meet the legal burden to prove the cases beyond a reasonable doubt. She said factors that were considered included whether the protesters' right to free speech had been violated, whether prosecutors had sufficient evidence to seek a conviction and if pursuing the case was in the interest of justice.

At campuses across the U.S. this spring, demonstrators sparred over the Israel-Hamas war. Texas' protest and others grew out of Columbia University’s early demonstrations.

Last week, prosecutors in New York announced that dozens of Columbia students who were arrested for occupying a campus building as part of a pro-Palestinian protest would have their criminal charges dropped. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said it would not pursue criminal charges for 31 of the 46 people initially arrested on trespassing charges inside the administration building.

On April 29 at UT, officers in riot gear encircled about 100 sitting protesters, dragging or carrying them out one by one amid screams. Another group of demonstrators trapped police and a van full of arrestees between buildings, creating a mass of bodies pushing and shoving. Officers used pepper spray and flash-bang devices to clear the crowd.

The university said in a statement at the time that many of the protesters weren’t affiliated with the school and that encampments were prohibited on the 53,000-student campus in the state capital. The school also alleged that some demonstrators were “physically and verbally combative” with university staff, prompting officials to call law enforcement. The Texas Department of Public Safety said arrests were made at the behest of the university and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Garza said she wished that state and university leadership had looked for "another solution to allow these students to voice what they felt like they needed to voice.” She said the reaction to the protests to protests showed that elected leaders “continue to prioritize extreme government outreach over actual public safety.”

In a statement, the University of Texas said the school was “deeply disappointed” by Garza’s actions, adding that the school “will continue to use the law enforcement and administrative tools at our disposal to maintain safety and operational continuity for our 53,000 students who come to campus to learn, regardless of whether the criminal justice system shares this commitment.”

“Free speech is welcome on our campus. Violating laws or rules is not," the statement said. “Actions that violate laws and Institutional Rules should be met with consequences, not with political posturing and press conferences.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters block police vehicles from leaving the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, April 29, 2024. Nearly 80 criminal trespass cases filed after the campus protest have been dismissed as a prosecutor said Wednesday, June 26, 2024 that the reaction to protests showed that elected leaders “continue to prioritize extreme government outreach over actual public safety." (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, file)

Texas state troopers line up below the University of Texas at Austin Tower to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus, April 29, 2024, in Austin, Texas. Nearly 80 criminal trespass cases filed after the campus protest have been dismissed as a prosecutor said Wednesday, June 26, 2024 that the reaction to protests showed that elected leaders “continue to prioritize extreme government outreach over actual public safety." (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, file)