Shooting Spree at East End Toronto BBQ-2 Dead
Hugh Freaking Dillon
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TORONTO - Toronto police say two people are dead and 22 other people were hurt after gunfire broke out at a crowded outdoor barbecue in east end Toronto on Monday night.
Police say 19 people appear to have been wounded by gunfire and three more trampled as people fled the scene. More than 200 people were at the outdoor party.
Officials are preparing to provide an update later today.
Police described the shootout, which involved multiple guns, as an "unprecedented" episode of violence.
"Tonight's event, I think, is shocking to every Torontonian. I think it will be shocking to all of Canada," Police Chief Bill Blair said from the scene of the crime. "The level of violence is something we have never experienced."
The two killed in the shooting were a teenage girl and a man in his 20s, who officials had not named.
Blair said the infant injured in the melee did not suffer life-threatening and was in stable condition.
Police said they had one injured "person of interest" in custody and were looking for other suspects.
They made multiple appeals for witnesses to contact them as they began to pull together descriptions for what appeared to be a number of different shooters.
A number of area residents took to social media in the aftermath of the gunfire to express their shock at the violence.
"I'm praying for the people out there, now I'm hearing my family got shot," said one woman. "I just seen a 19 year old die. Honestly things just need to be peaceful."
Another young woman posted about 17 ambulances gathering outside her building and expressed her concern at the state of the neighbourhood.
"I see rum and beer on the ground and there is blood on my foot," she wrote. "(They) were spraying bullets at random people in my neighbourhood."
The incident took place before 11 p.m. on Danzig St., near Morningside Ave., and Lawrence Ave. East. The area was packed with police cars and emergency response vehicles late Monday night as crews ferried away the injured on stretchers and treated others on buses brought in as mobile clinics.
Some people shed tears as they spoke with officers while others watched crews work from behind a police perimeter.
"An altercation broke out among some individuals and there was an exchange of gunfire. During that gunfire a number of innocent bystanders were struck," said Blair. "It's a very shocking event, a lot of people were injured."
"This is a tremendously frightening and tragic event for everyone," said a grim-faced Blair, who called the incident an episode of "senseless violence."
A variety of Toronto police divisions were called in to assist with the investigation, including the city's Guns and Gangs unit and the homicide squad.
While Blair said police were following up on a number of leads, he would not say if gangs were involved.
"We have a great deal of work to do," he said. "It demands our full effort to bring the persons responsible for this to justice."
In a statement issued early Tuesday, Mayor Rob Ford said he is "shocked and disgusted by this senseless act of violence."
"While we try to understand this tragic event, I want to assure residents that this horrific, criminal behaviour will not be tolerated in our city," said Ford.
Monday night's shooting came just weeks after a gunman opened fire in a crowded food court at Toronto's Eaton Centre. One man was killed instantly, another died of his injuries days later and several bystanders were sent to hospital.
As well, a man was gunned down at a cafe in Toronto's Little Italy on June 18.
And Jane Creba, 15, died after getting caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs through a crowd of Boxing Day shoppers on Yonge Street during the 2005 Christmas holiday.
Police say 19 people appear to have been wounded by gunfire and three more trampled as people fled the scene. More than 200 people were at the outdoor party.
Officials are preparing to provide an update later today.
Police described the shootout, which involved multiple guns, as an "unprecedented" episode of violence.
"Tonight's event, I think, is shocking to every Torontonian. I think it will be shocking to all of Canada," Police Chief Bill Blair said from the scene of the crime. "The level of violence is something we have never experienced."
The two killed in the shooting were a teenage girl and a man in his 20s, who officials had not named.
Blair said the infant injured in the melee did not suffer life-threatening and was in stable condition.
Police said they had one injured "person of interest" in custody and were looking for other suspects.
They made multiple appeals for witnesses to contact them as they began to pull together descriptions for what appeared to be a number of different shooters.
A number of area residents took to social media in the aftermath of the gunfire to express their shock at the violence.
"I'm praying for the people out there, now I'm hearing my family got shot," said one woman. "I just seen a 19 year old die. Honestly things just need to be peaceful."
Another young woman posted about 17 ambulances gathering outside her building and expressed her concern at the state of the neighbourhood.
"I see rum and beer on the ground and there is blood on my foot," she wrote. "(They) were spraying bullets at random people in my neighbourhood."
The incident took place before 11 p.m. on Danzig St., near Morningside Ave., and Lawrence Ave. East. The area was packed with police cars and emergency response vehicles late Monday night as crews ferried away the injured on stretchers and treated others on buses brought in as mobile clinics.
Some people shed tears as they spoke with officers while others watched crews work from behind a police perimeter.
"An altercation broke out among some individuals and there was an exchange of gunfire. During that gunfire a number of innocent bystanders were struck," said Blair. "It's a very shocking event, a lot of people were injured."
"This is a tremendously frightening and tragic event for everyone," said a grim-faced Blair, who called the incident an episode of "senseless violence."
A variety of Toronto police divisions were called in to assist with the investigation, including the city's Guns and Gangs unit and the homicide squad.
While Blair said police were following up on a number of leads, he would not say if gangs were involved.
"We have a great deal of work to do," he said. "It demands our full effort to bring the persons responsible for this to justice."
In a statement issued early Tuesday, Mayor Rob Ford said he is "shocked and disgusted by this senseless act of violence."
"While we try to understand this tragic event, I want to assure residents that this horrific, criminal behaviour will not be tolerated in our city," said Ford.
Monday night's shooting came just weeks after a gunman opened fire in a crowded food court at Toronto's Eaton Centre. One man was killed instantly, another died of his injuries days later and several bystanders were sent to hospital.
As well, a man was gunned down at a cafe in Toronto's Little Italy on June 18.
And Jane Creba, 15, died after getting caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs through a crowd of Boxing Day shoppers on Yonge Street during the 2005 Christmas holiday.
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
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Comments
I'm just wondering how things are going to be in our kinder, gentler nation in about 20 years? Even the less populated locales are beginning to show signs of extreme, widespread, random violence- the likes of which we could not even have imagined two decades ago.
Toss in a collection of security guard betrayal robberies, internet mail murders and the endless stream of pedophelia... what the hell is happening? At what point to we address this accelerating trend?
I advocate for heavy heavy heavy handed punishment- but I'll acknowledge that that alone is not the answer. Maybe the classic 'license to parent' debate should become reality?