At least eight hurt in four shootings Wednesday night
Mayor and police chief discuss near-record levels of gun violence this year
At least eight people were hurt in four separate shootings across Toronto on a violent Wednesday in the city.
Police were called to a shooting near Jane Street and Shoreham Court, south of Steeles Avenue in North York, at about 7:50 p.m. Three people suffered gunshot wounds to their legs, and multiple shell casings were found.
Police are searching for two men in the shooting. One was wearing a white hoodie and black track pants with white stripes. The other was wearing a black or grey hoodie, a baseball cap and blue jeans. Two more shootings took place about an hour earlier in Etobicoke.
At 6:40 p.m., police received reports of one person being shot in the leg on Pittsboro Drive, near Martin Grove Road and Finch Avenue West. One vehicle was left riddled with bullet holes, and police are now looking for a driver in a darkcoloured SUV.
At 6:34 p.m., about a five-minute drive away, police also responded to reports of multiple shots near Mount Olive Drive and Kipling Avenue, north of Finch Avenue West.
One woman suffered minor injuries to her finger, and another man was found with gunshot wounds to his back.
“These are active investigations and officers will be working to establish the circumstances and motive behind each incident,” Const. Michelle Flannery said. “At this time, it is too early to say whether they are linked but we continue to urge any witnesses to come forward.”
Earlier Wednesday, two people were injured in an overnight shooting near Wellesley Street East and Jarvis Street.
At about 1:20 a.m, a man was found with gunshot wounds to his foot. Police said there were indications a woman was also shot, but officers haven’t been able to locate her and are concerned for her safety.
Police said she’s white, in her early 20s, about five-feet-six and with shoulder-length brown hair. She was last seen wearing a dark-coloured, shortsleeve shirt and black pants.
After an unrelated event Thursday, Mayor John Tory said he had spoken to acting police Chief James Ramer about the spike in gun violence.
“It’s a challenge that doesn’t have an easy answer,” Tory told reporters. “A lot of this is related to gang activities, to drug activities, to trafficking activities.
“I can just tell you there is no letting up on (the police’s) part of addressing it and investigating and bringing these people to justice,” he added. “Just as there can’t be any letting up on our part on the need to make continuous investments in communities across the city to make sure we try to address root causes of this activity.”
As for the debate over defunding police or boosting their budget, Tory said Ramer has a plan that will modify some of the activities police engage in while still “reallocating resources to ensure we’re doing this in the best way we can.”
Gun violence continues to be near record levels in Toronto.
The total number of shooting incidents recorded this year by police — including ones that resulted in no injuries — has been worse than 2019, with 296 as of Sunday, 23 more than last year.
As of Sunday, 133 people had been killed or injured in shootings this year, down from 153 by that date last year, which was the most by Aug. 16 in police data that goes back to 2004.