TORONTO, June 24 (UPI) -- A bloody shooting spree in Toronto by a mentally ill and heavily armed man was averted by a stray dog the man took to, the Toronto Star reported Thursday.
The unidentified man in his 40s told police he drove to the city from New Brunswick Wednesday with the intention of killing as many people as he could so that he could be put in custody forever.
At a park, he began preparing his arsenal when a dog approached his car, and he played with it for some time. He told police he loved animals very much, and decided if the city had such nice dogs, the people must not be bad either.
He then approached a police officer.
"He told me he was crazy and he needed to go to the hospital," the officer said.
Apart from a loaded gun in his jacket pocket, police found in his car a 12-gauge shotgun, a bolt action rifle with a telescopic lens, a 9-mm semiautomatic, a machete, throwing knife, camouflage ski mask, black leather gloves, and 6,296 rounds of ammunition.
The man faces numerous weapons charges, and is expected to undergo psychiatric evaluation.
