Christopher Husbands arrives in court in Toronto on Monday, June 4, 2012. Husbands was charged in connection with the shooting at the city's Eaton Centre shopping mall in which one person was killed and six injured.
The suspect in the deadly Eaton Centre shooting is now facing two first-degree murder charges after a second man injured in the gunfire died earlier this week.
The charges against Christopher Husbands, 23, were upgraded on Wednesday afternoon when he appeared in court at Toronto's Old City Hall.
Ahmed Hassan, 24, died and several others were wounded on June 2, the day of the shooting. Mr. Husbands was originally charged with one count of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder.
On Monday evening, 22-year-old Nixon Nirmalendran died in hospital. Police said previously that he was in critical condition and had multiple gunshot wounds to his neck and chest.
As well as the murder charges, Mr. Husbands is now facing five counts of attempted murder and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
The Globe reported last week that the two victims who died and the alleged shooter were all affiliated with the Sic Thugs gang, based in Regent Park, according to someone familiar with the public-housing complex. However, police have said the shooting was related to a personal matter and not gang-related.
Also injured in the gunfire, which erupted on a Saturday evening in the mall's busy food court, was a 13-year-old boy who was shot in the head. Police said he was released from hospital on Sunday to finish his recovery at home.