

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





With two people shot dead in Toronto in the last 24 hours, the number of homicides in 2016 has more than doubled the number the city experienced by this point last year.

Last night, two men were killed in two separate shootings: one where a victim was shot at point-blank range in a small parking lot behind a home in Etobicoke’s Mimico neighbourhood, the other on Yonge Street just north of Bloor Street where a man was shot in the back five times.

Homicide Insp. Peter Moreira said the increase in gun violence is primarily affecting young men in the city, and that it cannot be attributed to any one factor.

“There are many different factors that go into a young person picking up a firearm and using it as a ‘decision maker’ in their lives, for disputes,” Moreira said. “That is what happens.”

At this point last year, six people had been fatally shot in the city, compared with 15 people last year during the same period, according to statistics released by Toronto police Thursday.

Fifty-four people have been injured or killed in shootings so far this year, compared to 35 people last year.

According to police, 25 people have been murdered in Toronto so far this year, more than doubling last year’s tally of 11.

Moreira said residents shouldn’t be discouraged from walking in well-traveled areas downtown, such as the Yonge and Bloor area where a man was killed yesterday.

“I can tell you that this city is historically a safe place to be and, notwithstanding the recent homicides we’ve seen, this city remains a safe city,” he said.

“Our officers work diligently each and every day to go out there and try to intervene before these offences occur.”