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A group of five to seven males were in the back parking lot of 6 Glamorgan Ave., near Kennedy and Ellesmere Rds., when a loud argument started around 5:45 p.m. said Det. Justin Vander Heyden.
Residents called after several gunshots rang out. Paramedics found a 30-year-old man who had been shot multiple times. He was rushed with the highest urgency to Sunnybrook Hospital where he died, making him the city’s 24th homicide victim this year.
Suzan, a resident of the building who declined to give her last name, said she heard three or four shots from her apartment.
“I was scared,” she said as she left the building with her young daughter. “I still am.”
Vander Heyden said the group of men who fled the scene are being considered “persons of interest” since it is believed only one gun was used.
Police are asking the men to come forward and are seeking two cars caught on video rapidly fleeing the scene, nearly hitting some of the males. One is a small, dark vehicle, the other a white four-door Honda Accord or Acura.
The man whose name is being withheld by the police is “familiar to the area and has immediate family in the area,” said Vander Heyden.
One resident of the building said she is “shocked” by the shooting. She often takes her granddaughter to play in the nearby park.
She says she believes she knows the young man who was shot.
“He is a nice boy, polite,” she said, adding that he grew up in the neighbourhood.
About an hour after the shooting, police escorted a woman and man, thought to be the victim’s family, away from the scene.
Police are also appealing for witnesses as they say the shooting took place in an area with heavy pedestrian traffic on the nearby street. Anyone with information should contact police at 416-808-7000 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
A double-shooting in a north-end neighbourhood sent two men to hospital Friday night
Police officers followed a trail of blood after a double-shooting in a north-end neighbourhood sent two men to hospital Friday night.
“We don’t know if the blood trail is due to one of the victims or a suspect,” said Staff Sgt. Dave Johnson.
Two men were shot, one in the chest and the other in the arm, around 10:30 p.m. on Valley Woods Rd. near the Don Valley Parkway and York Mills Rd.
Ambulances brought the victims to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers arrested three suspects, but two were later released and one was charged for an unrelated offence, Staff Sgt. John Babiar said.
Officers have yet to arrest a suspect in the shooting, but the investigation is ongoing.
The horrors of the Eaton Centre shooting on June 2, when a gunman opened fire in the food court, and the slaying in Little Italy two weeks later has led to unprecedented demand for help from Victim Services Toronto
For some, the nightmares and flashbacks continue, and the tears have not stopped. Others have been reluctant to even return to a public place.
In a single unexpected moment, they became witnesses to a public shooting and they, too, became victims.
The horrors of the Eaton Centre shooting on June 2, when a gunman opened fire in the food court, and the slaying in Little Italy two weeks later has led to unprecedented demand for help from Victim Services Toronto, stretching its resources to the limit. More than 100 people present at those scenes have reached out for support and that number is expected to grow.
“In one moment, your life forever changes,” said Lindsay Upton, the manager of the agency’s Victim Quick Response Program. “No one will forget the day they were at the Eaton Centre. Being a witness to a shooting leaves an imprint on everyone’s lives. It will stick with you.”
Victim Services is a charitable organization made up of 20 full-time staff and 150 volunteers. It operates 24/7 out of police headquarters and is supported by police.
Not since the Jane Creba shooting in 2005 has there been such a demand for its services.
After the Eaton Centre shooting, two teams of four crisis counsellors were called in immediately. A lone gunman had killed one man and injured six others, including a 13-year-old boy, in the food court area at about 6:20 p.m. on a busy Saturday. One of the injured later died in hospital.
“We were present at two different hospitals that night to assist with the victims and family members,” said Victim Services executive director Bonnie Levine.
The shooting in Toronto’s Little Italy happened on Monday afternoon on the patio of an ice cream parlour, where many patrons had been watching the Euro 2012 soccer tournament. One man was shot dead, another injured.
The tight-knit community has many “natural supports” to help them get through, said Upton, but the shooting prompted the same shockwaves felt by Eaton Centre victims. “It’s the feeling of lack of safety, uncertainty and it’s happening all over again,” said Upton.
Victim Services teams deal with a variety of issues, even well after the event. Some witnesses question how they reacted and continue to play out multiple scenarios in their minds. Could they have done something different?
They ask, why didn’t I notice that? Why was I in this place at that moment? Should I have grabbed my children earlier?
Recruiting sessions for Victim Services volunteers are held twice a year. They are asked to commit to two, four-hour shifts a month.
Last year, 800 people applied to be in the 150-member volunteer pool and those selected went through an 11-week course and mentoring program.
There are no specific requirements, said Bobbie McMurrich, director of programs, except for “a good heart.”
That necessity can be found even in the most traumatic circumstances.
Upton recalled hearing of one man she calls the “silent hero” of the Eaton Centre shooting.
When the gunfire erupted, a little girl, 6 or 7, became separated from her parents in the stampede to flee the food court.
The girl began crying when a man approached her, grabbed her hand and said, “Don’t worry, I will help you.”
The man, described by Upton as between 50 and 60 years old, promised he would not let go of her until they found her parents.
When the girl and her parents were reunited, the man left without leaving a name.
“I don’t think that little girl will ever forget him,” Upton said. “What helped some people cope were the silent heroes in the crowd. I have only the picture of one. But there could be many.”
While coping with the recent extraordinary tragedies, Victim Services still had its regular caseload, including helping victims of domestic violence and educating teens through its Teens Ending Abusive Relationships program.
Levine points out proudly that it costs only $151 an hour to operate the full range of the agency’s services.
Victim Services, which has a budget of about $1.38 million, is funded by the municipal and provincial governments and by donations.
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