Public shootings in Toronto have dominated headlines in recent days. As of July 25, Toronto Police have reported a total of 31 homicides for 2012, with 23 of those involving shooting.
On June 2, a public shooting in Eaton Centre left one person dead and six others injured. One of the injured later died from his injuries. Another man was killed by gunfire in broad daylight in Little Italy later that month, and on Canada Day a man was shot near Ashbridges Bay an hour after the fireworks.
Then a gun fight broke out at a BBQ street party on July 16, leaving two people dead and 21 injured, including a baby. A day after this incident, a man was shot and killed at a soccer field in Etobicoke.
The Epoch Times checked in with Torontonians on the go and asked what they thought about the recent spat of gun violence in the city.
Alex Santos
“It’s horrible,” said Santos. Santos said the shootings affect where in the city he decides to spend his time. “I wanted to go watch ColdPlay, but I decided against the idea because of all the shootings and guns.” Santos said police should crackdown on the gun trade and prevent shootouts in public areas.
Aaron Galluzzi
Statistician
“I think gun violence [occurrences] are isolated incidents, from the evidence I have seen,” Galluzzi told The Epoch Times. “I feel like there’s always been gun violence in specific areas of the city. They are ongoing; areas with high gang activity.” He doesn’t think this necessarily implies that Toronto is not safer than it has been. “If you look at Toronto’s crime rates, it’s still much lower than that of the states.”
Anh Nguyen
Engineer
Nguyen said she has been hearing a lot about the shootings on the news. “I’m not sure if this is normal, but for sure for summer, it’s frightening. Especially [the shooting] in the mall, I find it quite disturbing because that’s a family place. You wouldn’t be thinking of violence there,” said Nguyen.
Adam Grguric & Kevin Singh
I.T. Computer Programmers
Grguric said the shootings have been pretty bad, but they have not been shocking to him. “I mean every year this happens. We’ve had our years where it’s been pretty bad,” Grguric said.
Singh said it has been a little shocking to him, although “it hasn’t impacted how cautious I am.” He said he believes how concerned individuals will be depends on the circle of friends they keep. “I live around the area that [the Danzig shooting] occurred in,” he noted.
Nancy MacRiner
“I’m pretty unhappy about all this, obviously,” said MacRiner. She said she feels like the shootings are somewhat isolated events. “It’s gang-related. People are targeted. Innocent people are getting in the crossfire, but I personally don’t feel like it has impacted me.”
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