Weekend's deadly shooting breaks Toronto's all-time homicide record

This weekend's deadly daylight shooting breaks Toronto's all-time homicide record

Toronto Police / Shutterstock

A man who was shot to death in a daylight shooting in Scarborough on Sunday marks the city’s 90th slaying of 2018 — breaking Toronto’s previous homicide record set 27 years ago.

According to police, officers were called to a residential building in the area of Lawrence Avenue and Kingston Road just after 1:20 pm, following reports of multiple gunshots.

SOUND OF GUNSHOTS:
Lawrence Av + Kingston Rd
-Multiple shots heard
-No other commotion
-Officers en route to investigate#GO2124586
^dh

— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) November 18, 2018

A male victim was located inside the building, suffering from gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead shortly after paramedics arrived at the scene.

SOUND OF GUNSHOTS:
Lawrence Av + Kingston Rd
-Victim suffering from gunshot wounds
-Has succumbed to his injuries
-Pronounced deceased at scene
-Homicide called in to investigate
^dh

— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) November 18, 2018

Police said they found shell casings inside the building and the force’s homicide unit is now investigating.

This shooting marks the 90th homicide in Toronto this year, which is the most homicides in the city’s history. The previous record was 89 slayings in 1991.

Toronto police’s shooting statistics show an increase in deaths in 2018, with 47 recorded as of Monday, November 19, compared to 36 in 2017 and 35 in 2016.

Toronto Police

As gun violence continues to plague the city, Mayor John Tory has urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ban the sale of handguns in Toronto. Additionally, Tory asked the federal government to strengthen bail guidelines of repeat offenders and to take more steps to address gun violence in the city.

However despite the city’s efforts, gun violence still continues to plague the city, and with less than two months remaining in the year, there have already been far too many high-profile shootings that have left painful scars on the people of Toronto.

This includes the Scarborough playground shooting that injured two young girls, the brazen Canada Day shooting that killed two men connected to Toronto’s hip-hop scene, and the mass shooting on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue that injured 14 and killed two.

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