TWO YEARS AGO: Police officer from Toronto shot to death in Mississauga coffee shop

A Toronto police officer shot and killed two years ago as he had lunch in a Mississauga coffee shop is being remembered by former colleagues in addition to officers in Peel and across Canada.

Officers with the Toronto Police motorcycle squad, of which Const. Andrew Hong was a member, took part in a ceremonial parade on Thursday morning to honour the legacy of their colleague, who was gunned down on Sept. 12, 2022 as he sat inside a Meadowvale Tim Hortons in Mississauga’s north end.

Meanwhile, numerous motorcycle officers with Peel Regional Police and other police forces visited Hong’s gravesite on Thursday “to mark the second anniversary of his tragic line of duty death,” Peel police said in a post to social media, which contains a short video (see below).

Hong, 48, a well-liked and widely respected cop with 22 years on the Toronto Police force, was in Mississauga taking part in motorcycle training alongside some of his Toronto colleagues in addition to members of Peel Regional Police.

On a lunchtime break from the training session, Hong offered to get his fellow officers and friends coffee and he headed to the nearby Tim Hortons at Argentia Road and Winston Churchill Blvd.

There, a gunman who’d been lying in wait for more than two hours for a cop — any cop — to show up at the coffee shop approached Hong as he sat at a table and shot him in the back of the head at close range.

Videos

Earlier today, a number of Motor Officers from @PRPRoadSafety and beyond attended Cst. Andrew Hong’s gravesite to mark the second anniversary of his tragic line of duty death. Rest easy brother. #7815 is Forever in our hearts. #HeroesInLife 🔵⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/u4SQj9KEmh

— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) September 12, 2024

Hong, married and father to two teenagers, died immediately in the targeted, execution-style slaying that sent immediate shockwaves through police ranks in Toronto, Peel and across southern Ontario. News of the slaying also quickly spread to the public across Mississauga, Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.

It also set in motion a massive manhunt across the GTA and farther afield that would end just over two hours later with the shooting death of the gunman, who after killing Hong then shot to death two other people in Milton. Sean Petrie, 40, of no fixed address, was identified as the shooter and he died at the hands of a Halton Regional Police officer in Hamilton.

Toronto Police motorcycle officers and their colleagues took part in a ceremonial parade on Thursday morning to honour their fellow officer. (Photo: Toronto Police X)

In a post to social media on Thursday morning, Toronto Police paid tribute to Hong, “who lost his life in the line of duty on Sept. 12, 2022.”

Officers with the force’s motorcycle squad and traffic services unit held a ceremonial parade to honour their former colleague.

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw noted in a post to social media that “Const. Andrew Hong was a husband, a father and a proud police officer. He will never be forgotten.”

Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah also paid tribute to the fallen officer.

“It has been two years since the tragic loss of Const. Andrew Hong. Today and every day, we remember his service and the service of so many others … and the strength of his loved ones that were so deeply impacted,” he wrote in a post to X (formerly Twitter).

One person who commented on the Toronto Police chief’s post said: “Such a great guy. Andrew always had a smile on his face. No, he will never be forgotten.”

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Toronto Police Const. Andrew Hong, who was shot to death on Sept. 12, 2022 in Mississauga.

The following story was posted to INsauga.com on Sept. 12, 2023, marking one year since the police officer’s death:

For Toronto Police Const. Andrew Hong, Sept. 12, 2022 started out just like any other day.

The well-liked and widely respected motorcycle cop, a 22-year member of the force and father of two teenagers, prepared for another shift of doing the job he loved.

On this day, duty called him to the Meadowvale area of Mississauga, where the 48-year-old Hong was taking part in police motorcycle training alongside some of his Toronto colleagues in addition to members of Peel Regional Police.

Tragically, Hong didn’t get to end the day by returning home to his family.

On a lunchtime break from the training session, Hong offered to get his colleagues and friends coffee and he headed to a nearby Tim Hortons at Argentia Road and Winston Churchill Blvd.

There, a gunman who’d been lying in wait for more than two hours for a cop — any cop — to show up at the coffee shop approached Hong as he sat at a table and shot him in the back of the head at close range.

Hong, who had decided to sit for a few moments to have lunch shortly after 2 p.m., died immediately.

The targeted, execution-style slaying sent immediate shockwaves through police ranks — in Toronto, Peel and across southern Ontario — and the entire community, city and quickly beyond Mississauga’s borders.

It also set in motion a massive manhunt across the GTA and farther afield that would end just over two hours later with the shooting death of the gunman, identified as Sean Petrie, 40, of no fixed address, at the hands of a Halton Regional Police officer in Hamilton.

But in between the police officer’s murder and the gunman’s death, yet more tragedy and carnage unfolded as the shooter made his way to Milton immediately after having shot and killed Hong in an unsuccessful attempt to grab his gun and expand his arsenal.

Sean Petrie, 40, was shot and killed by police after a manhunt on Sept. 12, 2022.

After stealing a Jeep Cherokee in a carjacking at the Tim Hortons, the gunman drove to a Milton auto repair shop, where he shot and killed two other people and wounded a third about 35 minutes after Hong had been slain.

Killed in Milton were the owner of the car repair business, Shakeel Ashraf, 38, who had employed Petrie for a short time about a year earlier, and a 28-year-old international exchange student who was working part-time at the shop.

The shooter then made his way to a cemetery in Hamilton, where he was confronted by both Hamilton and Halton police officers in the late afternoon.

During an attempted arrest, Petrie was shot and killed by a Halton police officer.

A subsequent investigation conducted by the province’s Special Investigations Unit cleared the police officer in the shooting death.

Hong well-loved by fellow officers and others

One year later, Hong’s colleagues paid tribute via social media to the officer and man they knew affectionately as “Honger.”

“Today, we remember Constable Andrew Hong. On this day in 2022, while participating in joint motorcycle squad training exercise with Peel Regional Police officers, he was senselessly shot and killed. We remember those who gave their lives in service of others,” Toronto Police said in a post to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday.

The post garnered numerous comments from both police officers and the community at large.

“Not just a great loss to the service, but to his community, friends and family as well,” one person wrote.

“A life well lived, but much too short. It’s a reminder to us all to do the things we love, to tell the ones we love that we love them. This should be a reminder to everyone that life is short … seize the day, my friends. Honger would have wanted that,” another wrote in response.

Petrie, meanwhile, had an extensive criminal record dating back more than a decade that included several firearms convictions.

Police said at the time that Petrie, who in 2007 was flagged as a “high risk to reoffend,” had been estranged from family members for one to five years leading up to the shooting rampage.

Calling the tragic events “…a horrific act of violence that should never occur again,” Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah confirmed several days after the shooting deaths that the gunman arrived at the Tim Hortons about two hours and 15 minutes prior to the slaying of Hong.

He was reportedly waiting at the coffee shop for a police officer to show up in order to grab an additional weapon, the police chief said.