Seventeen people have been shot after 14 shootings over the August long weekend — a spike in gun violence that prompted Toronto’s police chief to issue a call for witnesses to come forward.

“This is not Toronto,” chief Mark Saunders told reporters at a media conference at police headquarters Monday afternoon. “And rest assured that I will be providing the resources where they need to be to solve these cases.”

Saunders spoke out after gunfire inside a full North York nightclub around 2:15 a.m., injuring five people and sending scores of panicked clubgoers running for cover. The incident is among a series of 14 distinct shootings since Saturday, five of them leaving at least two people with gunshot wounds.

Just hours after Saunders’ press conference, more shots rang out in North York, near Flemington Rd. and Stockton Rd., sending a man with serious gun shot wounds to hospital and injuring another person. Police said two suspects were seen fleeing the area to a nearby complex.

Monday’s early morning shooting at District 45 nightclub, located 1300 Finch Ave. W., began at the back after an altercation broke out between some of the patrons, police said.

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Saunders could not say Monday if there was more than one shooter during the gunfire. Shell casings were found both in and outside of the club, Saunders said, meaning the shooting likely took place indoors and outside.

Five people were injured; one remains in serious condition and the other four suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Saunders said the club shooting particularly troubled him, in part because of how packed it was at the time. He hopes that through witness information and a review of surveillance footage, police would be able to provide more information, and possibly a suspect description, soon.

“I find it disturbing when you’ve got over 100 people and someone would be brazen enough to pull out a gun and start shooting,” he added.

“It’s very solvable, because we have a lot of people that were there... We’ve got a lot of resources on this one, (and) we will definitely be in good shape to solve it if we have witnesses come out and help,” Saunders said.

Two men were also shot in the area of Church St. and Adelaide St. early Monday morning, police said. Toronto paramedics say one of the victims is in life-threatening condition while the other is suffering serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

On Sunday, a man sustained life-threatening injuries after a shooting at an Airbnb rental listed in the Bridle Path. Saunders said police have identified three suspects and that the investigation looks “promising” in terms of making arrests.

“When I’ve got 13 people right now in the city that have been shot, that have a bullet in them, I’ve got concerns for that,” Saunders said, prior to Monday’s late afternoon shooting where a 14th and 15th person were injured.

Late Monday night, police said a 16th person was shot in Etobicoke near Scarlett Rd. and Braeburn Ave. with non life-threatening injuries.

A 17th person walked to a local hospital with non life-threatening gunshot wounds following another shooting in Scarborough nearby Lawrence Ave. and Mossbank Dr after 10 p.m.

“I can tell you that we will be putting additional resources in specific places that we think will help deter and reduce the gun violence that’s occurring in the city,” he said.

Stressing he is “concerned” about the number of people injured this weekend, Saunders nonetheless remarked that the violence comes during a year that’s seen an overall decrease in fatal violence over this time last year.

According to the most recent available Toronto police statistics, updated on July 29, gun-related deaths in the city are at a three-year low: 18 people have been fatally shot so far this year, down from 30 this time last year, 20 year-to-date in 2017 and 26 by this time in 2016.

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Shooting occurrences — when a shooting is reported to police, but not necessarily where anyone was hurt — appear to be roughly on par with last year, with 230 by July 29 and 234 at the same time last year.

The violent weekend prompted Mayor John Tory to reiterate his call for a handgun ban, saying on Twitter Monday that such a ban “will help us address the gun violence we are experiencing in our city and the surrounding region.”

A staff report released in June concluded that Toronto might have to seek the help of the province — even if the federal government allows municipalities to ban some types of firearms.

With files from Jacob Lorinc, Rhianna Jackson-Kelso, Raneem Alozzi and The Canadian Press

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis

Temur Durrani is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @temurdur

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