Toronto may not be the only North American city seeing a rise in gun-related crimes and homicide, but Police Chief Mark Saunders said the city cannot take comfort in being part of an upward trend.

“Many people over the last few days have stated that something must be done. That is not enough,” he told reporters at a Tuesday afternoon press conference at police headquarters.

“We must translate that genuine anger and concern into tangible action that increases the ability by the city of Toronto to beat those who commit to causing violence.”

He did not provide any new details on the investigation into the killing of Candice Rochelle Bobb, 35.

The Malton woman was five months pregnant when the car she was in was hit by gunfire Sunday night.

She was the only one of four occupants who was shot.

The driver went immediately to Etobicoke General Hospital, where doctors pronounced Bobb dead, but successfully delivered her baby via an emergency C-section. Police have not released any information about the child other than that the infant is in stable condition.

Bobb also leaves behind two other children, aged 16 and 12.

Bobb and her infant are the latest victims of a surge in violent crime in Toronto this year, hers yet another name added to a growing list of people killed on Jamestown Cres. in Rexdale in recent years.

Saunders said 50 per cent of the shootings in the Jamestown area are street gang-related.

While police have dedicated more resources to the area, Saunders emphasized that the co-operation from other members of the community must also be weighed in.

“In every community in the city, there are people who know who is committed to a life of violence. That information is the most precious resource we have,” Saunders said.

As for a right answer to the puzzle of increased gun violence in the city this year, Saunders said the solution is not black-and-white.

“What I know with absolutely certainty is there’s no simple solution to complicated problems.”

Toronto Mayor John Tory called the shooting death “a travesty” at a Monday press conference.

“I want to express my sympathies to her friends and to her family and my heart goes out in particular to her baby — no baby should come into this world without a mother. It really will, I hope, redouble our efforts to deal with all of these kinds of incidents.”

Homicide detectives probing the death — Toronto’s 29th in 2016, nearly double the number at this time last year — stressed they are in the early stages of the investigation.

Many key questions remain unanswered. Chief among them: who killed Bobb, and why.

Several of Bobb’s family members and friends requested privacy when contacted by the Star on Monday. One person close to Bobb, who asked not to be named, said Bobb “didn’t deserve this.”

“I know for a fact she wasn’t the target because she had no enemies. No one would hate her.”

Det.-Sgt. Mike Carbone provided a loose sketch of the hours leading up to the shooting at a news conference on Monday. Around 8 p.m. on the night of the shooting, Bobb and two others travelled together in a vehicle to Jamestown Cres. and John Garland Blvd. to pick up a fourth passenger. The quartet then travelled to the east end of the city where they went to a basketball game.

Around 11 p.m., they returned to the Jamestown and John Garland area, not far from Toronto’s western border with Mississauga, to drop off one of the occupants of the vehicle. It was as the vehicle was stopped that one or more shooters approached the car and unleashed an unknown number of bullets.

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Bobb was seated in the back of the car at the time of the shooting, Carbone said, adding that none of the people inside left the vehicle, and none of the occupants were known to police.

Police are investigating the possibility the shooter or shooters then travelled eastbound on John Garland. Throughout the day Monday, they canvassed the neighbourhood looking for witnesses and surveillance footage.

With files from Wendy Gillis and Oliver Sachgau