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In a year when the city endured some brazen, horrific and mysterious murders, guns remain the top choice of weapon for killers.

And it’s those murderers — often affiliated with street gangs — who are the toughest to catch.

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“Gun violence is still a concern for us,” Toronto Police Insp. Bryan Bott said. “And those investigations are more complex, so they take longer to solve.”

“But for the general public, it’s still a safe city,” maintained Bott, the head of his force’s homicide squad.

In the last 12 months, police statistics show there have been 375 shooting occurrences, resulting in 565 victims — essentially double what the city experienced just three years ago.

Not surprisingly, 39 of Toronto’s 61 murder victims in 2017 were killed by guns. And just seven of those cases, about 18%, have been solved.

However, Bott was quick to point out his squad’s solved rate jumps to nearly 82% when the gun murders are excluded. He also explained that the solved rates for 2017 will rise in the months ahead.