19-year-old dies after overnight standoff at University of Toronto Mississauga residence; Ontario's SIU investigates

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says a 19-year-old man died inside a student residence at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) early on November 3, with preliminary information indicating a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The death followed a dangerous weapons call on the evening of November 2 that prompted UTM to issue a shelter-in-place order for the McLuhan Court residence area; campus stayed open on Tuesday but classes were cancelled. (Cover photo is a file photo of the UTM campus, not the residence involved.)

Weapons call after 9 p.m.; man found dead after hours-long standoff

Peel Regional Police say officers responded a few minutes after 9 p.m. on November 2 to a dangerous weapons call on campus and found they were dealing with a man wanted in connection with an intimate-partner assault in Brampton earlier that afternoon, in which a suspect was reportedly in possession of a gun. Officers negotiated with the man for several hours while he was barricaded inside a townhouse-style student unit, discharging ARWEN anti-riot weapons, which fire less-lethal rounds, in attempts to subdue him. Police stressed there was no exchange of gunfire with police, and that what frightened students believed were multiple gunshots was the sound of ARWEN devices. SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette told reporters on Tuesday morning at UTM that preliminary information indicates the man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at around 1:30 a.m. in a residence bedroom, with a post-mortem scheduled for Wednesday.

Man was not a UTM student; no one else injured

Police say the man was not a student at UTM and they are trying to determine the nature of the relationship between him and a person on campus they were believed to be visiting. No other injuries were reported and there is no ongoing threat to public safety. McLuhan Court houses hundreds of first-year students; other students evacuated themselves or were helped out by Peel police and UTM campus police, and the shelter-in-place order was lifted early Tuesday, although some areas around the residence remained cordoned off. The SIU took over the investigation on Tuesday morning because Peel officers were in and around the scene at the time of the death, as its mandate requires whenever police involvement coincides with a death or serious injury. UTM says campus is open but classes are cancelled, with support services available to affected students and staff. Anyone in distress in Canada can call or text 988.