Adapted from Joelle Kidd’s report for Anglican Journal, via ACNS
Two Anglican churches in Toronto are offering space for prayer after an evening shooting on July 22 left two dead and 13 others injured. The gunman, whose identity has not been released, was found dead in a nearby alley after an exchange of gunfire with police, according to The Globe and Mail. It is unclear if the shooter died by suicide.
The shooting began around 10 p.m. on Toronto’s busy Danforth Avenue, the city’s Greektown. Witnesses describe a man dressed in all black shouting and shooting a handgun as he walked down the street.
The Redeemer Toronto announced the next morning on Twitter that the church would be open for prayer. “If you need a quiet place to be in light of the shooting on the Danforth please know that you are welcome here,” the post said.
St. Matthew’s Riverdale also opened for prayers beginning at 5 p.m. July 23. In a Facebook post, Catherine Sider Hamilton, priest in charge of St. Matthews, offered prayers for the victims, in particular a young girl, aged eight or nine, who is reported to be in critical condition.
“We think too of the young man who committed these acts of violence and pray for his soul,” the post reads. “Pray for our city, that we may remain open and hopeful; that we may be a place of peace.”
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
