

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





The number of people murdered in the City of Toronto fell by one in 2015 compared to previous years, with firearms and blades accounting for a growing share of the killings, Toronto police crime data shows.

Fifty-six people were intentionally killed in the City of Toronto in 2015, according to Toronto police reports, one fewer than in both 2014 and 2013. In 2012, the number of murders also reached 56.

Last year, 17 people were stabbed to death, 27 were shot to death, and 12 were killed by other means.

Murders involving firearms and blades accounted for 80 per cent of all homicides last year, up from 74 per cent in 2014.

However, Toronto police statistics covering Jan. 1 to Dec. 29, 2015 reveal a more troubling non-lethal trend.

Reported shooting incidents in the city rose by 42 per cent in 2015 compared to 2014. And the number of victims injured in gunfire incidents in the city rose by 63 per cent.

The number of shootings reported where nobody was injured rose by 71 per cent.

The number of killings in the city over the last three years pales in comparison to 2005, when 79 people were murdered.