Toronto police arrest 39-year-old man in two ‘unprovoked’ fatal shootings

A 39-year-old man has been arrested in relation to two recent homicides in downtown Toronto that police are calling “random attacks.”

Toronto Police Chief James Ramer provided an update on Tuesday morning and says police were able to link the two shootings that occurred in the last week and apprehended the suspect at his home on Sunday evening.

Last Thursday, 21-year-old Kartik Vasudev was fatally shot outside Sherbourne subway station in what was believed to be a targeted incident.

On Saturday evening, 35-year-old Elijah Eleazar Mahepath of Toronto was shot several times by “an apparent stranger” near the intersection of Dundas and George streets. He was later pronounced dead in the hospital.

“In the aftermath of this second attack our investigators were able to quickly draw a link between the murder of Kartik, and the one of Elijah,” said Ramer.

RELATED: Police make pair of arrests after “unprovoked” attacks on Toronto civilians: Ramer

Police say the similarities between the two incidents allowed them to quickly connect the dots and narrow down the suspect.

Officers executed a search warrant at a residence in the area of Spadina Avenue and Bloor Street and arrested the suspect without incident. Ramer says this occurred “despite the fact the accused had several loaded firearms on the floor next to him.”

Police have charged Richard Jonathan Edwin, a 39-year-old from Toronto, with two counts of first-degree murder.

Police believe suspect may have been planning further shootings

Police say the victims were not known to the accused or to each other and investigators are still working to find a motive for the killings.

Chief Ramer says there is sufficient evidence to assume the suspect was planning further attacks.

“Given that he had already killed two apparent strangers and a cache of firearms was located at his residence, we can reasonably conclude that the quick work of our investigators has prevented a further loss of life,” said Ramer.

“Quite frankly, I believe this may have just been the first step.”

He says the suspect had no prior criminal record and had the proper permits for his guns.

Kartik Vasudev was an international student from India attending Seneca College. Vasudev’s father told CityNews last week he was pleading for answers as the investigation continued.

Hundreds of people took part in a vigil on the weekend at Nathan Phillips Square at the same time people were gathering in Vasudev’s hometown in India.