Murder of a police officer in Toronto | The suspect had a criminal record

(Toronto) The suspect believed to be behind the shootings that claimed the lives of a police officer and the owner of an auto parts garage earlier this week in the Greater Toronto Area had a lengthy criminal record and a been linked to a gang before.

Documents from the Parole Board of Canada reveal that the man who allegedly carried out the two shootings in Mississauga and Milton on Monday had a history of theft, drug dealing and possession of weapons, in addition to having had ties to a gang.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of Ontario has not confirmed the name of the suspect, who is now deceased, since his family would have opposed his disclosure.

An alert sent Monday afternoon by Peel Regional Police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Shawn Petry. However, sources familiar with the case rather indicated that the suspect was named Sean Petrie and that he was 40 years old.

The SIU said four officers opened fire on the suspect during a police operation at the Hamilton cemetery late Monday afternoon.

In documents from the Parole Board of Canada that refer to a Sean Petrie born on the same day as the suspect in this case, it is stated that the man was incarcerated in 2010 in a medium security institution and that he was eligible for statutory release, that is, he was released on supervision after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

“Your offense cycle, as demonstrated by your criminal history, is directly related to the negative influence of other criminals, including those involved in gangs,” the commission wrote in an August 17, 2010 decision.

“Your ties to these people have led to your convictions for crimes against property, theft, drug trafficking and possession of weapons. »

The board rated Petrie as a -3 on the Statistical Information on Recidivism Scale, a category where it is judged “one in two offenders will not commit criminal acts after release.”

Many conditions

Several conditions were imposed on Petrie’s release, including not to come into contact with gangs, or anyone connected to a specific gang — whose name was not given.

In order to prevent him from meeting members of this gang, the commission prohibited Petrie from going to a specific area of ​​​​northwest Toronto, where “most of (his) criminal activity occurred” .

The commission also imposed a condition that Petrie must refrain from buying and taking non-prescription drugs.

“You have shown yourself comfortable with the possession of cocaine and other narcotics for the purpose of trafficking,” the commission wrote. There is also an indication of regular cannabis use which is not conducive to your reintegration. You refused drug tests in prison, which resulted in penalties,” the commission recalled.

Support from his family

Sean Petrie had completed a violence prevention program and had learned “some things from it”, acknowledged the commission, which also raised the fact that he could count on the support of his girlfriend and his family once he was released. ‘outside.

However, the commission imposed “increased supervision” on him because of his “bad behavior in detention”.

Petrie also had an obligation to find a job. This was a “key element” for his release.

“You will need help finding a job, since most of your previous income was earned through illegal activities,” the commission warned.

On Wednesday, the commission recalled that it was obliged to release Petrie and that it was not a decision on his part.

She recalled that the man had to respect conditions for a certain period in order to complete his sentence, which ended on June 19, 2012.

“The risk assessment that was made in making this decision was based on the behavior of the offender at that time,” the board said.

Petrie was not serving a federal sentence in the community at the time of this week’s shootings, the commission said.

The suspect in Monday’s shootings allegedly first opened fire around 2:15 p.m. at a Tim Hortons in Mississauga, when he launched an “unprovoked” attack and killed police officer Andrew Hong, who was on break. Another person was shot.

The suspect then raged again less than an hour later in Milton, when he killed auto parts garage owner Shakeel Ashraf and injured two others, before fleeing a second time.

Sources say a chase ensued on the freeway that led to the operation at Hamilton Cemetery, where the man was shot, around 4:30 p.m.