Arrests made as violence erupts at Woodbine Beach

A violent night at Woodbine Beach on Sunday resulted in 19 arrests after multiple incidents including a stabbing, a shooting, and two reported robberies at gunpoint.

Toronto police said officers responded to multiple calls of crowds setting off illegal fireworks.

“We allege that some individuals were intentionally directing fireworks at people, including police officers,” Duty Inspector Jeff Bassingthwaite said in a news release Monday.

Police said that despite the hostile behaviour, officers managed to make arrests, noting that the crowds eventually dispersed. Police said of the 19 people charged, 10 were minors.

The charges laid include robbery, common nuisance, and assaulting a peace officer.

Numerous injuries were reported after the incident. Among those injuries, seven were of police officers. Police described some of them as being “serious in nature.”

Police said one officer broke a leg while responding to a shooting. Two officers were said to have received burns and injuries to the ear from having fireworks thrown at them, exploding when they came near.

One officer was struck directly in the face by a firework, sustaining serious abrasions to his face, ears, and eyes, police said.

A video that was posted on Twitter showed crowds of people running down a street while fireworks went off around them.

“I filmed several videos between 9:30 p.m. and midnight,” said Liam Murphy, who posted a series of videos on Twitter when the incident occurred. He said at one point he was trying to film some people providing others with fireworks when he was noticed.

“Suddenly, fireworks were aimed at me and my balcony,” said Murphy. “They were exploding around me. I was petrified.”

Mayor John Tory expressed his thoughts in a statement that was posted on Twitter Monday afternoon.

“This is totally unacceptable behaviour and I support police doing all they can to protect people and keep the public safe,” Tory said.

Toronto Police Chief James Ramer took to Twitter Monday afternoon, saying, “people who choose to jeopardize the safety of the public or our officers, can expect to be arrested & to face criminal charges.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5500, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at 222tips.com.