A Toronto city councillor is urging short-term rental operators to delist “ghost-hotels” while shaken residents of a condominium building where three died by gunfire say more must be done to ensure their safety.

“Let’s stop with these ghost hotels and these party suites ... It’s not appropriate, it’s not safe and far too often it’s resulting in tragedies like this,” Ward 10 Coun. Joe Cressy (Spadina-Fort York) told reporters on Saturday.

He made his remarks outside of a condominium building on Queens Wharf Road in the Fort York neighbourhood where gunfire erupted at about 10:30 the night before. A social gathering was underway at the time in a 32nd-floor unit that was being rented via Airbnb.

Three men — all age 21 or under — died. Two other men were injured, one of whom is in serious condition in hospital, while the other was treated on scene and is cooperating with investigators. Police said they are no longer looking for a suspect. They have confirmed that the shooter(s) died in the shooting.

Alex Li, a media relations officer with Toronto police said the victims have been identified as Jalen Colley, 21, of Brampton, Joshua Gibson-Skier, 20, of Brampton and Tyronne Noseworthy, 19, of Toronto.

Li said police recovered two firearms from the scene and that the shooting took place in the unit and the hallways adjacent to it.

Cressy called on short-term rental operators, such as Airbnb, to delist “multiple listings and ghost hotels ... delist all these properties today.”

In an email to residents Friday afternoon, the building’s management said they will ban short-term rentals. In a later email, management notified residents that a new security company, Cavalier Security, has been hired for the building. They did not clarify why a new company had been hired.

In the notice, the property manager of 85 Queens Wharf said the board and management had discussed the issue of short-term rentals many times, “and unfortunately, we have many (owners) that are in favour of short-term rentals as well as many against.” However, it said in light of the incident and violence in the city “we will be drafting and sending out a new rule” to limit renting any unit for less than three months.

Condo owner Shane Rivers said it’s not the first time there has been a shooting in a short-term vacation rental in the building. Enough’s enough, he said.

“We can’t keep letting this happen. What are we going to do? Wait until a resident gets shot?” he said.

Rivers said he bought his condo three years ago, and had no idea there were so many Airbnb rentals in the building at the time.

As he was speaking to a reporter, a man dragging a suitcase walked by. Asked if he was renting an Airbnb unit in the building, the man said yes: “I’m supposed to say my cousin lives here.” He said he had been given instructions on what to say if anyone questioned him.

Rivers said he attended a recent condo board meeting where there was some discussion on banning short-term rentals but it didn’t go very far. He said he was told 75 per cent of condo owners would need to vote in favour of such a ban. But there was some doubt expressed as to whether that could happen since so many owners rent their units out through agencies such as Airbnb. As well, only a fraction of owners attend condo board meetings, he said.

“We are not getting international tourists. These are kids coming in to party,” said Carly Zedic, who often stays in the building with her boyfriend who owns a unit.

The city has been trying to rein in short-term rentals since it passed regulations two years ago that were supposed to take effect in June 2018. Short-term landlords, including one whose legal fees were paid by Airbnb, appealed the regulations at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. That appeal was rejected by the tribunal in November, paving way for the city to proceed with the new rules, which would limit short-term rentals to a landlord or tenant’s primary residence.

However, a group of landlords announced in December they planned to ask a divisional court for leave to appeal the rules.

Spadina-Fort York MP Adam Vaughan had harsh words for Airbnb, charging that the organization is placing lives at risk.

“Airbnb is deliberately making these neighbourhoods dangerous and I think Airbnb has a lot to be held to account for,” he said.

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He called for the legal challenge by short-term rental landlords to be dropped.

“The challenge we have, for all of us living in condominiums, is you come home on a Friday night and there are 15 people in your hallway having a party. And you have to step over them to get to your doorway. It is one thing for a man my size to walk through that, but when it’s your daughter or your kid trying to get home, it's not a safe situation,” Vaughan continued.

Friday’s incident follows another shooting in a Toronto Airbnb in August, when a man suffered life-threatening injuries after he was shot at an Airbnb listed in the Bridle Path. Police said there were 20 to 30 people in the Airbnb at the time of the shooting.

Just before the new year, Airbnb announced a ban on house parties that extended to Canada and around the world.

In response to Friday’s shooting, Airbnb sent a statement Saturday saying it was investigating the incident.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred in Toronto last night and our thoughts are with all who have been impacted ... We have zero tolerance for this type of behaviour, and we ban both party houses and unauthorized parties on our platform.”

Airbnb has banned the booking guest and said that no previous safety incidents had been reported at the listing, wrote spokesperson Lindsey Scully in an email.

“Airbnb formally bans all ‘open invite’ parties as well as any large events in condo or apartment buildings,” Scully wrote.

Home-sharing watchdog Fairbnb said Toronto’s Airbnb market has become crowded with “ghost hotels,” homes taken out of the long-term rental market by absentee hosts to be used as tourist rentals, noting the highest density was in Toronto’s waterfront community.

“There’s no more time for half-measures,” said Fairbnb spokesperson Thorben Wieditz.

“Airbnb can show it takes the lives of guests and neighbours seriously by following Toronto’s regulations, delisting “ghost hotels,” and ending its support for hosts’ appeals.”

In a statement, Mayor John Tory said the shooting was “unacceptable,” adding the city’s community crisis response team has been mobilized to support the neighbourhood.

“Early next week, I will be outlining additional proposed investments in neighbourhoods to help young people and directly address the root causes (of) violence.”

Correction — Feb. 3, 2020: This article has been edited to remove an incorrect reference to the ages of the men killed in the shooting. They were 21, 20 and 19. As well, the previous version mistakenly said an email was sent to residents of 85 Queens Wharf on Saturday. In fact, the email was sent on Friday, Jan. 31.