Three injured in another highway shooting

TORONTO • Provincial police say three people were injured in a shooting on a Toronto-area highway on Friday, the second such highway shooting in recent weeks.

Investigators say two men and a woman were taken to hospital after the 3: 20 a. m. shooting on Highway 401 in Pickering, Ont.

One of the men is still being treated for serious injuries, while the other two victims have been released.

Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says police are speaking to witnesses as they try to figure out how the incident unfolded.

Earlier this month, three men were shot in a car on Highway 400 — one fatally. In that case, the driver was able to make his way off of the highway and to a gas station, despite being shot while behind the wheel.

Local police have identified the deceased as 28-yearold Terrence Agtua.

Schmidt says provincial police received 25 calls about gun-related incidents on Ontario highways in the past year, ranging from shootings to people brandishing weapons.

In his year- end news conference Friday, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders said his force is moving in the right direction in its approach to fighting gun and gang violence, even as he acknowledged the number of shootings has climbed year after year.

Saunders said the Toronto Police Service has ramped up its efforts in investigating such violence, completing numerous wide-scale probes and boosting the solve rate for shootings from 13 per cent to roughly 30 per cent.

“Street gang violence is the top priority all the time.,” he said.

Saunders particularly lauded a weeks- long operation known as Project Community Space, which began in August and targeted gang activity.

“When I’m talking about a 15-week period of time and I’m making 463 arrests and seizing hundreds of guns, there’s a message there.”