Toronto police officer shot and killed 'while getting food at Tim Horton’s'

A man suspected of shooting and killing a police officer while he ate lunch before killing another person has been shot dead by police in a cemetery in Toronto.

Three other people were wounded in the shooting on Monday, officials in the Canadian city said.

Authorities said they were investigating an active shooter after two shootings in Mississauga and Milton in the province of Ontario.

Constable Andrew Hong “was getting food and coffee at Tim Horton’s” when he was killed, Toronto Mayor John Tory said.

“He was a gentle giant,” Mr Tory told AP of the victim, who he said he had met previously.

Toronto Police chief James Ramer said Mr Hong, 48, a traffic officer, was shot at close range. The married father-of-two was a 22-year veteran of the force.

He was in Mississauga participating in a joint training exercise with Peel and York regional police.

“While on lunch break, he was shot in an unprovoked, and may I say, in an ambush attack,” Peel Region Police chief Nishan Duraiappah said. “In the same incident, a second victim suffered life-altering injuries and is currently being treated.”

Mr Duraiappah said the alleged attacker then fled the scene in a black Jeep Cherokee. Shortly afterwards in Milton, police received information of a shooting that resulted in one death and two others being wounded.

He said the alleged assailant fled the scene and died after a police interaction at a cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario.

Hamilton Police confirmed via Twitter that one person was taken into custody and pronounced deceased in connection with shooting investigations in Mississauga and Milton. Hamilton’s police chief said the man died at Hamilton Cemetery.

Police did not identify the alleged attacker.

They had said in the emergency alert to the public that they were looking for a stolen black Jeep Cherokee and the alleged assailant dressed in black with a construction vest.

“Like all Ontarians, I’m horrified by today’s senseless violence, including the killing of a Toronto police officer,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote on Twitter.

“I’m so grateful to law enforcement for bringing this situation to an end. May justice for those killed and injured be swift.”

Peel Regional Police Constable Heather Cannon later said the public safety alert is no longer in effect.

The shooting comes a week after a stabbing spree that killed 10 people in one of the country's bloodiest acts of mass violence.

Suspected attacker Myles Sanderson died in hospital on Thursday, a few hours after he was taken into custody, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

He was caught on a motorway near the town of Rosthern, in the province of Saskatchewan after a four-day manhunt.