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Police searching for three attackers after 12 wounded in Toronto shooting

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Police searching for three attackers after 12 wounded in Toronto shooting

Three masked men ‘opened fire indiscriminately’ at pub in the Canadian city, authorities say.

Police in Toronto say they are searching for three men suspected of taking part in a shooting that wounded at least 12 people at a pub in the Canadian city.

The masked gunmen opened fire at the Piper Arms Pub on its opening night on Friday, according to authorities. The attack was the latest incident in a years-long uptick in gun violence in the North American country, which has prompted legislators to freeze the sale of some firearms in recent years.

“They walked into the bar. They produced their guns, and they opened fire indiscriminately on the people sitting inside the bar,” police Superintendent Paul MacIntyre told reporters on Saturday.

MacIntyre, who is with the organised crime enforcement unit, added that six of the victims have gunshot wounds that are not life-threatening. He added that the others were injured by broken glass.

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The motive for the shooting remained unclear, police said.

“Our investigation will tell us whether or not this pub was targeted for a particular reason,” MacIntyre said.

“Maybe somebody was inside that somebody didn’t like. Maybe somebody had a beef with the business. We don’t know,” he added.

The police official told reporters that he had seen the bar’s surveillance video of the shooting, which showed people ducking for cover or falling on the floor after being struck.

“This is a reckless act of violence that has shaken our community and city,” he said, adding that the police will leave “no stone unturned” in finding the suspects.

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Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said on the social media platform X that she was “deeply troubled” to hear about the shooting at the pub and added that the police chief had assured her “all necessary resources have been deployed.”

Violent crime involving guns has increased by 81 percent since 2009, according to the Canadian government.

In December 2022, five people were killed and another wounded in a shooting in the suburbs of Toronto.

The surge in gun violence has prompted the government to recently ban more kinds of handguns and other firearms.

In April 2020, a gunman disguised as a policeman killed 22 people in the eastern province of Nova Scotia, Canada’s worst mass shooting. The country banned 1,500 types of military-grade or assault-style firearms days after the Nova Scotia shooting.

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Map: 3.8-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Las Vegas

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Map: 3.8-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Las Vegas

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Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown.  All times on the map are Pacific time. The New York Times

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A minor, 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck in Nevada on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake prompted a flurry of chatter online, but no widespread damage was reported.

The temblor happened at 1:47 p.m. Pacific time about 7 miles northwest of Summerlin South, Nev., data from the agency shows.

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On social media, residents across the area described the earthquake jolting their homes and rattling windows and doors. Some said they heard the boom-like sound of an explosion, while others said they didn’t feel anything or described a small disturbance that lacked any significant oomph.

Brian Cohen was at home putting away groceries in Lone Mountain, about a half hour west of the Las Vegas strip, just before 2 p.m. when he felt the entire house rattle intensely for about three seconds.

“The whole house felt like it was lifting up,” said Mr. Cohen, who is in his 60s. He went outside and saw a neighbor, who also reported feeling the jolt.

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Mr. Cohen, who has lived in the Las Vegas area since 1994, said this wasn’t his first earthquake. “This one is the strongest one I felt,” he said, adding there was no damage to his home.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

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Aftershocks forecast

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While individual earthquakes can’t be predicted, geologists can calculate the chances that more earthquakes will follow an initial quake using statistical models of past events.

For this earthquake, it is unlikely — about a 4 chance — that a larger quake will strike the area in the next day, according to the U.S.G.S. Here is the forecast for aftershocks of other sizes:

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3.0 mag. or stronger

Perhaps

26%

4.0 mag. or stronger

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Unlikely

5%

5.0 mag. or stronger

Unlikely

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Source: United States Geological Survey. Data is as of June 4 at 1:57 p.m. Pacific time.  Chance of aftershocks typically decreases over time. Forecast quake counts are estimates. William B. Davis, Joel Eastwood and John Keefe/The New York Times

The rate of aftershocks typically decreases over time, and forecasts are available for the next week, month and year.

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Aftershocks detected

Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.

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Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles

Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.

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When quakes and aftershocks occurred

 All times are Pacific time. The New York Times

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Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Thursday, June 4 at 5:25 p.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Thursday, June 4 at 8:23 p.m. Eastern.