

Chris Fox, CP24.com





Gunfire rang out at five different locations in Toronto overnight, sending a number of people to hospital with various injuries.

The first shooting occurred near Kipling Avenue and Dixon Road at around midnight. Police say that as many as six shots were heard, however no victims were located. Police say that a vehicle or vehicles may have been seen fleeing the area at a high rate of speed.

The second shooting happened on Shoreham Drive near Jane Street and Steeles Avenue at around 1 a.m.

Police say that one person sustained minor injuries in that shooting after they were clipped by a car while trying to run to safety.

It is not clear how many shots were fired.

Also at 1 a.m., police responded to another shots fired call near Dundas Street and Denison Avenue. A total of four shots were heard, however shell casings were not located.

Another shooting, meanwhile, happened at a townhouse complex on The East Mall near Rathburn Road at around 1:40 a.m.

Two men were taken to hospital, one with serious injuries, as a result.

Police say that both victims are men in their 20s.

The fifth and final shooting then happened near Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue at around 6 a.m.

Police say that a 25-year-old man was standing outside a car with some friends when a group of three male suspects approached and opened fire, striking him in the leg.

The man was transported to hospital in non-life threatening condition.

Police subsequently recovered eight shell casings at the scene.

“This is a quiet community, it is safe community and we want the community to know that we are outraged this occurred,” Det. David Johnson told reporters on Saturday morning. “There is a lot of gun violence in Toronto and we are doing everything we can to get the guns off the street. We want this gun off the street and we want the suspects off the street as well.”

Police have not said whether any of the shootings could be related.

Addressing the rash of violence on Saturday morning, Police Chief Mark Saunders told CP24 that many police forces across North America are currently dealing with a spike in shootings.

“Last night we had a couple shootings and we have resources on it right now to figure out exactly who has caused the shootings to occur. There is a bit of a trend where there have been shootings but it is not just the City of Toronto; it is a North American issue that is going on right now,” he said. “As law enforcement we are trying to figure out not only just how to solve cases like this but how to prevent them.”

So far in 2016, there have been a total of 330 shootings in Toronto, which is up 52.8 per cent from this point in 2015.

No information has been released about suspects in any of Saturday morning’s shootings at this point.