Police are seen in a pizza shop on Toronto's Birchmount Road after a shooting incident on Oct. 3, 2018. The pizza shop is a regular hangout favourite for students of a nearby high school.Chris Young/Globe and Mail
A young man killed in a daytime shooting that forced the lockdown of four schools is the latest victim of a surge in gun crime that is pushing Toronto toward a record homicide rate and challenging top mayoral contenders to outline how they plan to combat the violence.
In the wake of the shooting, incumbent mayor John Tory promised additional neighbourhood policing and pointed to his role in pushing a package of measures to combat gun violence through council as his main contender Jennifer Keesmaat said she would ensure police staffing levels no longer “yo-yo up and down.”
Both candidates support a handgun ban that is under consideration by the federal government.
The shooting in Scarborough, on Toronto’s east side, came amid a violent 24 hours for the city. Dwayne McMillan, 44, was shot and killed on Tuesday night in an industrial plaza in the northwest, near Keele Street and Steeles Avenue West. As police investigated the homicide, officers in other areas of the city were racing to at least two other calls of reported gun shots. Another man died in a Toronto hospital after being dropped off with gun wounds after a shooting in Mississauga.
On Wednesday, hundreds of students were forced to stay inside their schools near the shooting at Birchmount Road and Bonis Avenue around 1:30 p.m. When police arrived they found one victim − who police spokesperson Katrina Arrogante said they believe is approximately 18 years old − with obvious gunshot wounds. He was transported to a trauma centre where he was pronounced dead. Police have not released his identity, pending notification of next of kin.
A suspect fled the scene, running toward nearby Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute. No arrests have been made.
Shari Schwartz-Maltz, a spokeswoman for the Toronto District School Board, said four schools were in lockdown but the students were safe. The last lockdown was lifted around 4 p.m. “The staff tried to keep everybody calm,” she said. “We’re diligent in running lockdown drills so our staff and our kids know what to do.”
It was the 83rd homicide of the year, putting Toronto on track to surpass the record of 86 in 2007. This year’s statistics are unusually high even factoring in the 10 deaths connected to the high-profile van attack on Yonge Street in April. While gun violence historically peaks in the summer, Toronto Police data show that gun violence remains elevated in the fall. There have been more than 300 shootings so far this year – more than 40 of which have been fatal. There were 39 fatal shootings in all of 2017.
“Every shooting in our city is tragic," Keerthana Kamalavasan, a spokesperson for Mr. Tory, said in a statement released on Wednesday night, adding that Mr. Tory is committed to working with Toronto Police to keep the city safe.
Mr. Tory’s campaign noted he led council in approving a plan to combat gun violence that included lifting a hiring freeze to add 200 officers this year and another 200 in 2019. The plan also calls for upper levels of government to commit millions of dollars for youth programs and tougher bail conditions and sentencing for gun and gang crimes. Mr. Tory has expressed his support for a handgun ban, which is being considered by the federal government.
In his platform, Mr. Tory calls for expanding the neighbourhood officer program. The Toronto Police Service bolstered the program this week, adding 20 new service members to the program that will devote 96 officers to assignments in 33 of the city’s 144 neighbourhoods. Unlike regular patrol officers, neighbourhood officers are asked to get to know residents and help identify and address the needs of an area. The service hopes to build the program to roughly 220 officers in 60 neighbourhoods.
Ms. Keesmaat also points toward neighbourhood policing as a key to reducing crime and promised “strong, decisive action” immediately.
“The recent rise in shootings in this city is profoundly disturbing. The fact that this most recent brazen daylight shooting took place near public schools is frightening,” Ms. Keesmaat said in a statement released by her campaign. “Our police officers need to have relationships with the communities that they serve − that fact has never changed. What has changed is the sense of safety that people feel on our streets.”
She committed to consistent staffing levels and community support that would help the city “before issues become crises."
All levels of government committed to addressing gun violence after a surge of crime, including several fatal shootings on crowded streets, rattled the community this summer. As community advocates called for more social programs to address the root causes of violence, the Toronto police union blamed a hiring freeze that they say has left them in “reactive mode,” struggling to make it from call to call.
The Ontario government also pledged $25-million over four years to fight guns and gangs in Toronto. There has been tension over how the city should best combat the violence, with some officers connecting the rise in crime to limitations on street checks imposed by the previous provincial government. Ontario imposed strict conditions on carding after research showed the policing practice was disproportionately affecting young black men and other people of colour. Advocacy groups, including the Toronto-based Zero Gun Violence Movement, have argued additional policing is not a solution − and that the emphasis should instead be on expanding public programming and job opportunities.
With a report from Caroline Alphonso