Three weeks away from his wedding, a Toronto man with a criminal history of bank robbery was charged with three counts of first-degree murder after Thursday’s shocking midday crossbow attack in Scarborough.

Brett Ryan, 35, avoided eye contact with the public gallery as he made a brief appearance inside a packed court, less than 24 hours after police discovered the lifeless bodies of three people, two men and one woman, struck by crossbow bolts outside a home on Lawndale Rd.

Dressed in a white hoodie, with no obvious signs of injury, Ryan listened as a Crown lawyer read out three charges; the accused was then ordered to remain in custody until his next court appearance on Sept. 2.

Social media profiles show Ryan was engaged and due to be married in the Hamilton area next month. He lived with his fiancée in a downtown Toronto condo building that, in a related investigation launched just after the slayings, was evacuated due to a bomb threat.

According to their wedding registry page, the couple met on a blind date in downtown Toronto.

It was not the first time Ryan stood in the prisoner’s box. In January 2009, Ryan was dubbed “the bearded bandit” after pleading guilty to eight counts of robbery and eight counts of disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence. He carried out the robbery spree wearing a false beard and bandages on his face, court records show.

In an exceedingly rare court order, the names of the victims of Thursday’s triple homicide were placed under a publication ban in court, keeping them secret from the public.

When making the request for a publication ban, Crown prosecutor Dihim Emami did not tell the court why one was necessary. Justice of the Peace Grace Lau granted the publication ban, also without providing reasons why the identity of the victims need to be kept secret.

The Toronto Star and other media will be challenging the ban early next week.

As reported in the Star Friday, a police source said that investigators believe the victims and the alleged attacker were relatives.

The homicides, Toronto’s 45th, 46th and 47th of 2016, occurred just before 1 p.m. Thursday, after police responded to a report of a stabbing at a home near Kingston Rd. and Markham Rd.

Moments after neighbours heard screams coming from the home’s yard, police found the bodies of three adults — one in the driveway, two more in the nearby garage. Police said a crossbow was found nearby.

An autopsy was expected to be performed on the three victims Friday.

Ryan was arrested shortly after the grisly discovery. One other person was treated for injuries stemming from the incident.

Warren Dalton, who lives across from the killing scene, heard a pounding on his door Thursday. When he opened it a man fell into his arms and said: “My brother is bleeding in the driveway, call 911.”

Dalton said he went outside and saw a man who was bleeding in the driveway. The neighbour said he tried to stop the bleeding with a towel but it wasn’t enough.

Vijaya Cruz, whose house backs onto the bungalow, said she was home with her husband when she heard a commotion.

“My husband said he heard some screaming,” Cruz said. “Someone was screaming there. Then he said he heard (a) ‘bang, bang, bang’ noise, and then someone was saying, ‘calm down.’ ”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Just two hours after the bodies were found Thursday, police launched a related investigation into a possible bomb threat at a Queens Quay condominium in downtown Toronto, ordering residents to evacuate.

Investigators called in the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive team to investigate a suspicious package.

Toronto police Supt. Bill Neadles later explained that the package was discovered inside one of the units in the building, after police arrived to notify someone in the apartment about “some of the events that may have transpired” in Scarborough Thursday.

A resident of the Queens Quay condo complex that was evacuated said that Brett Ryan has lived there for “a few years.”

“It’s all completely shocking,” said the woman, who lives on the 14th floor and asked not to be identified. “He’s our neighbour — super nice guy and his fiancée is really lovely. Met him for the first time a few weeks ago and we had talked about having a neighbour party. We said it would be great if we could get a bunch of people together. He seemed like a really nice guy — really personable.”

Neighbours believe the home where the deaths occurred has been occupied by a middle-aged couple.

Dale Lounsbury, who sells crossbows at a sporting goods store in Waterloo and owns one himself, said they can be dangerous due to their power and accuracy. But they are not suited to firing multiple shots in quick succession, he said.

“Crossbows are not a rapid-fire instrument at all,” Lounsbury said. “I can probably fire two shots a minute, maybe three.”

Unlike guns, buying a typical crossbow does not require a licence.

A man named Brett Anthony Ryan, who was born in 1980, was listed as living at the address of the crime scene when he filed for bankruptcy in 2010. At that time he listed $60,004 in total liabilities and $200 in assets.