York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween released a lengthy statement Friday defending his comments earlier this week about personal safety following public backlash to his advice when dealing with violent criminals .

On Wednesday, MacSween held a news conference to discuss recent violent incidents that included a Vaughan father, 46-year-old Abdul Aleem Farooqi, gunned down while protecting his family during a home invasion, a woman abducted and a man wounded by gunfire during another home invasion in Markham, and two people killed in a Richmond Hill house fire which investigators now believe was deliberately set.

“In the unlikely event that you find yourself a victim of a home invasion, we are urging citizens not take matters into their own hands,” MacSween said at the media briefing

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