Donovan Betty 21,Toronto victim of Tuesday’s shooting at 545 The West Mall in Etobicoke

Toronto police have identified 21-year-old Donovan Betty as the victim of Tuesday’s shooting in Etobicoke.

Police responded to a call around 1:20 p.m. at The West Mall and Rathburn Road, near Highway 427, according to a press release.

Betty was pronounced dead in the parking lot of 545 The West Mall.

A dark coloured sedan was seen driving quickly away from the scene, said police. Suspect information has not been released.

Police are asking anyone with information or security video to contact police at 416-808-7400 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477)

Betty is Toronto’s 49 homicide victim of 2019.

Including him, 40 men and 9 women have been killed in Toronto so far this year. They are:

Ian Dyer, 36, was stabbed in a Toronto Community Housing building near Danforth and Midland Aves. on Jan. 6. Leigh Min, 34, was arrested two days later and charged with first-degree murder.

• Lorraine Kerubo Ogoti, 30, was stabbed in an eighth-floor unit of a Scarborough apartment building on Jan. 8. Her boyfriend, Mowlid Hassan, 40, was found dead outside the building. Police have concluded Ogoti’s death was a murder-suicide.

• Aseel Yehya, 18, was shot on Elmhurst Dr. near Redwater Dr. in Etobicoke on Jan. 9 after police said a dark-coloured vehicle approached him.

• Lingathasan Suntharamoorthy, 36, was shot in an apartment building near Dundalk Dr. and Antrim Cres. on Jan. 12.

• Hanh (Hana) Nguyen, 41, was stabbed at her home near Jane St. and St. Clair Ave. W., on Jan. 24. Austin Le, 40, was found at the scene and charged with second-degree murder.

• Jaunoi Christian, 24, was shot outside a nightclub on Queen St. E. near Parliament St. on Feb. 8. Ibrahim Khiar, 33, of Toronto, was charged with first-degree murder on Feb. 20.

• Veronika Mrhova, 24, was shot while sitting in a Mercedes-Benz near Lake Shore Blvd. and Silver Moon Dr. early on Feb. 10. She died in hospital five days later.

• Dean Howlett, 25, was shot in an apartment building on Lawrence Ave. E. west of Kingston Rd. in Scarborough on Feb. 12. Naod Tsegazab, 22, of Toronto, was later charged with second-degree murder.

• Tesfa Welsh-Hope, 28, was shot near Islington Ave. and Rexdale Blvd. in Rexdale on Feb. 13. Kyle Dias, 19, of Toronto, was arrested on Vancouver Island on March 15 and charged with second-degree murder.

• Nicklus McKain, 18, was shot near 18 John Garland Blvd., near Kipling Ave. and Albion Rd., in Rexdale on Feb. 24. He died in hospital.

• Jason Otis Lewis, 47, was found dead at an apartment on Broadway Ave., near Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. E. on March 4. An autopsy found he died of blunt-force trauma. Quentin Luke Lewis, 42, was arrested two days later and charged with second-degree murder.

• Nashwan Yonan, 32, was shot at a gas station at Eglinton Ave. E. and Avenue Rd. shortly after midnight on March 8. He died in hospital nearly two weeks later on March 21.

• Martin Anthony Johnson, 51, was shot at a North York apartment complex near Keele St. and Sheppard Ave. W. on March 11.

• Jennyfer Lachappelle, 41, was found dead on at an apartment near Davenport Rd. and Symington Ave. on March 13. Andrew Gerber, 38, has been charged with second-degree murder. Friends said Gerber and Lachappelle were in a relationship and may have been engaged.

• Helen Fronczak, 79, was found dead at an apartment near Kipling Ave. and Eglinton Ave. W. on March 19. Larry Fronczak, 80, has been charged with second-degree murder.

• Jerome Belle, 22, was shot near Dundas West subway station in the Junction at about 3:30 p.m. March 20. He died in hospital.

• Rae Cara Carrington, 51, was stabbed in the PATH system near King St. W and Bay St. on April 10. Her son, Duncan O’Neil Sinclair, 19, of Toronto, was arrested two days later and charged with first-degree murder.

• Wilfred Kent Truman, 77, was killed in his home near Eglinton Ave. W. and Black Creek Dr. on April 15. Kyle Truman, 49, of Toronto, has been charged with first-degree murder.

• Jermaine Gerard Skeete, 34, was shot at 571 Vaughan Rd. near Oakwood Ave. on April 21. He later died in hospital.

• Lawrence Taylor Gannon, 28, was shot on Ivy Green Cres., near Brimorton Dr. and Orton Park Rd., in Scarborough on April 28. He died in hospital two days later.

• Premachchandran Sundaralingam, 53, was found injured inside a home near Renforth Dr. and Rathburn Rd. on April 28. He died in hospital the next day. Richard Turner, 48, of Toronto, was arrested on May 2 and has been charged with manslaughter, aggravated assault and threatening death.

• Blain Gerrado Grindley, 26, was shot in Rexdale near John Garland Blvd. and Humber College Blvd. on May 1. Michael Smith, 29, of Toronto, surrendered to police on May 20. He’s charged with first degree murder. Police are still looking for Dayne Sitladeen, 27, of Mississauga.

• Justin Kyle Ezeard, 23, was shot at a commercial establishment near Steeles Ave. W. and Islington Ave. on May 3. Shawn Vassel, 35, of Toronto, was arrested on July 10, charged with second-degree murder.

• Brendon Bowler, 17, was stabbed near Sir Wilfrid Laurier C.I. near Guildwood Pkwy. and Livingston Rd. on May 6. Emmett Carew, 18, and Cheddi Itwaroo, 20, both of Toronto, are charged with second-degree murder.

• Valland Spolarich, 43, was found dead at his home at Shanly St. and Westmoreland Ave. on May 21. Herculano Pimentel, 50, of Toronto has been charged with second-degree murder.

• Hassan Gutale Ali, 52, was found dead in an apartment on June 6. Abdullahi Osman, 55, was arrested on June 12 and charged with first-degree murder.

• James Andrew Smith, 52, was stabbed while he was standing at the door of 730 Yonge St. near Charles St. on June 8. Eric Bryant Ram, 24, of no fixed address, has been charged with second-degree murder.

• Johnson Reyes, 61, was stabbed at Parkwoods Village Dr. and Gisburn Rd., west of Victoria Park Ave. in North York on June 28.

• Jaydin Simpson, 17, was shot in a parking lot near Danzig St. and Morningside Ave. in Scarborough on June 28.

Christopher Teape, 25, and Ahmed Mohamud, 32, both from Toronto, were shot at an apartment building on Emmett Ave., near Jane St. and Eglinton Ave. W., on June 29. A third man was also shot, and suffered non life-threatening injuries. Denzil Kemoy Williams, 33, of Toronto, was arrested July 27, and charged with two counts of first degree murder.

• Jordan Armstrong, 33, was shot inside Orchid nightclub on Peter St., near Spadina Ave., on June 30. Staff found the club promoter suffering from gunshot wounds at 3 a.m., and he later died in hospital.

• Dwain Frederick Adams, 61, was assaulted in a restaurant near Queen St. E. and Sherbourne St. on July 1. He died in hospital on July 6. Patrick Gayle, 46, was arrested for aggravated assault, which was later upgraded to manslaughter on July 6.

• Kathryn Niedoba, 36, was found with life-threatening injuries near Dovercourt Park on July 18 and died in hospital. Matthew Larmon, 43, of Toronto, was arrested the next day and charged with manslaughter.

• Hanad Abdullahi Ali, 16, was shot at Falstaff Ave. near Jane St. around 1 a.m. on Aug. 1.

• Grenville Johhnson, 56, was stabbed at a drop-in program operated by Wychwood Open Door on Aug. 7 at about 3 p.m. Glen McGregor, 57, of Toronto, charged with second-degree murder.

• Kevin Reddick, 29, was shot in East York near Wakunda Pl. and Parma Ct., just before 2:20 p.m. Aug. 9. Two suspects are wanted in connection with the shooting.

• Paolo Caputo, 64, was shot in front of his restaurant on Roncesvalles Ave., near Grenadier Rd., just after 4 p.m. Aug. 16. Police are looking for one suspect who fled the scene after jumping in a waiting car. Caputo was an associate of Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto.

• Minh Le, 61, was shot in a North York plaza at around 10:50 p.m. Aug. 19. He died in hospital two days later. He was found lying on the ground in a parking lot near a McDonald’s drive thru at Weston Rd. and Highway 401.

• Abdikani Ismail, 33, of Toronto, was shot while he was driving on Weston Rd., near Jane St., at about 9:10 p.m. Aug. 21. The shooter’s car pulled up beside Ismail’s vehicle and started firing while both were still moving.

• Alexis Charles, 46, of Toronto, was shot just after 5 a.m. Aug. 25 on Toryork Dr., near Fenmar Dr. and Steeles Ave. W.

• A resident of Bendale Acres Long-Term care facility in Scarborough died on Sept. 3 after an altercation with another resident. He was taken to hospital where he died.

• Nathan Lloyd Ashman, 36, of Toronto, died following an altercation at Jane St. and Wilson Ave. at about 9:10 p.m. Sept. 4. Troy Anthony Hinds, 43, of Toronto, was charged with second-degree murder.

• Chiou-Shuang (Susan) Cheng, 40, was found dead inside a residence on Bonis Ave. on April 3 around 11:30 a.m. Followng a suspicious death investigation, 53-year-old Mansour Jalali, 53, of Toronto, was arrested on Sept. 7. He has been charged with first-degree murder.

• Tharshika Jeganathan, 27, was attacked with a machete at Fishery Rd., near Morrish and Ellesmere Rds. on Sept. 11. Sasikaran Thanapalasingam, 38, surrendered to police later that day and charged with first degree murder. The two had been in a previous relationship.

• Vito Lapolla, 72, was shot outside outside a café in the area of Dufferin St. and Glencairn Ave. on Sept. 16. Suspect jumped out of the car and shot him outside Tony’s Espresso Bar.

• Charankan Chandrakanthan, 25, was shot in the parking lot of 3411 McNicoll Ave. in Scarborough on Sept. 19. Police charged 22-year-old Stouffville man, Saranraj Sivakumar, with second-degree murder and attempted murder.

• Edwin McGowan, 52, was found dead in an apartment building by the corner of Kennedy Rd. and Antrium Cr. Police said the cause of death was severe trauma caused by assault, and are deeming it a homicide.

Donovan Betty, 21, was shot in the parking lot of 545 The West Mall. Police are looking for a dark coloured sedan that was seen fleeing the scene.

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Two people injured from shooting at Jane St and York Gate Blvd in North York

One person was rushed to a trauma centre with potentially critical injuries and another has sustained serious injuries following a shooting in North York.

Police were called to a plaza in the area of Jane Street and York Gate Boulevard for reports of gunfire at around 8:20 p.m.

Two victims were found in the area, Toronto police said. One of them was rushed to a trauma centre via emergency run with injuries that may be life-threatening, police said.

Yellow police tape cordoned off the plaza following the shooting Tuesday night and bullet holes and broken glass could be seen at two storefronts.

One man who spoke with the media said he was washing his clothes at the laundromat when the gunfire erupted.

"I ran to the back of the laundromat," said the man, who said he heard around 10 gunshots.

The man, who lives near the plaza, said the shooting left him shaken.

"I'm nervous. My heart is pounding right now."

There is no information about possible suspects so far.

A number of roads have been shut down in the area as police investigate.
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Residents in some parts of the GTA spend more than half their income on rent

A new rental housing tool is highlighting key electoral districts where voters are spending half or more of their income on housing to help inform voters and politicians before election polls open next month.

The Canadian Rental Housing Index released numbers and an interactive map Tuesday that broke down how much of their overall income Canadians are spending on rent across all 338 federal ridings.

The findings showed that Ontario has some of the worst rental housing affordability issues in the country. The five federal ridings, in which residents contribute the highest percentage of their incomes to rent, are all located within the Greater Toronto Area, according to the findings.

More than 30 per cent of renters in Willowdale, Thornhill, Richmond Hill and Markham are spending more than 50 per cent of their income on rent, the index found after analyzing numbers in Statistics Canada's 2016 long-form census.

In those same areas, it found that more than 55 per cent of renters are spending 30 per cent or more on rent.

Any household which spends 30 per cent or more of its gross income on housing has affordability issues, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

"The data clearly demonstrates that our political leaders have not been able to find or implement meaningful solutions to the affordable housing crisis,” Marlene Coffey, the executive director of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association, said in a news releaseissued on Tuesday. “Ontario now has the dubious honour of being harder hit than anywhere else in the country."

The Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association was part of a coalition of national housing providers who contributed to the report, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, and the Aboriginal Housing Management Association.

The analysis also found that single mothers, Indigenous renter households, new immigrants, Canadians under the age of 30, and seniors are all facing higher levels of overspending on rental housing than the Canadian average.

"For a long time, the conversation around rental housing affordability in Canada has focused on the population as a whole, but the numbers clearly show several key, vulnerable groups are bearing the brunt of this crisis," Jeff Morrison, executive director of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, said in a news release.

"We very much hope that those seeking office in this election and Canadian voters will use this opportunity to push for more immediate and substantial action on this critical issue."

The online interactive tool aims to show both government leaders and voters the depth of the crisis in some of the federal ridings across the country, the creators said.

The federal election is set to take place on Oct. 21.
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Toronto allows taller fences at Drake's mansion amid security concerns

The City of Toronto has granted Drake special permission to build fences twice as high as would otherwise be permitted, largely due to security concerns at his Bridle Path mega-mansion.

“The amount of people that try to come onto this property during the day and at night is very, very significant,” Brad Rafauli, vice-president of the Ferris Rafauli Architectural Design Build Group, told North York Community Council Monday.

“Security is really left in his hands.”

Rafauli was seeking permission on Drake’s behalf for an exemption from the city bylaw that restricts residential fences to two metres in height.

Drake’s mansion located on Park Lane Circle, which is still under construction, features several fences, walls, columns, and gates ranging from 3.0 to 4.4 metres, but his counsel argued that they blend into the property because the star has spent more than $1 million on 20-foot cedar trees to line them.

“It fits in with the neighbourhood,” Rafauli said.

But the property owner who shares a backyard lot line with Drake disagreed, arguing that the 4.4-metre “barrier wall” along the backyard’s edge casts an excessive shadow and sets a bad precedent.

“The brick wall is an eyesore to my clients in the neighbourhood as it can be observed from almost every single room of my clients’ residence,” the neighbour’s representative, Mandy Ng, said.

Councillors pointed out, however, that no other neighbours had expressed concerns and decided to grant Drake the bylaw exemption.

“There was very little opposition,” Jaye Robinson, the city councillor for the area, said. “There’s nothing lovelier than a whole row of beautiful trees, so we’re very impressed with the actual investment in trees on this particular property.”

Drake’s representative, meanwhile, stressed that the fence height was critical to his client’s security. Despite 24-hour security on the property, fans continually attempt to gain access to the site in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the mansion or the star, he said.

“Everyone knows where he eats, where he sleeps, and that has really freaked him out,” said Rafauli.

“Security is really, really high on the list.”
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Vito Lapolla, 72, was fatally shot at Tony's Espresso Bar on Dufferin St. on Sept. 16, 2019

A 72-year-old man was fatally shot in a plaza Monday evening.

Toronto Police say the shooting happened at about 6:45 p.m. outside Tony’s Espresso Bar on Dufferin St. near Glencairn Ave., south of Lawrence Ave.

Officers found Vito Lapolla in a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a trauma centre where he died.

Det-Sgt. Andy Singh said the gunman was last seen fleeing northbound on Dufferin in a white SUV. He is described as about 5-foot-10 with a thin build and was dressed all in black with a hooded sweater.

The owner of Tony’s Espresso Bar said the victim was a retired carpenter.

“He would come by here every day mostly and sit and have coffee and talk,” Tony said. “It’s just such a bad thing that happened.”

Paul, who owns a meat store in the plaza two doors down from the shooting, says he knew Lapolla for 30 years and most days would have a coffee with him.

“Police say this is a targeted shooting and that just doesn’t make sense. He was 70 (sic) and the nicest guy,” Paul said.

“Everybody in the neighbourhood knows everybody. This has to be a mistake and done by someone from outside.”

Lapolla is the city’s 46th homicide victim of the year. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers.
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Mississauga shooting that left teen dead, 5 injured likely linked to music videos: police

Peel Regional Police say a “targeted,” brazen shooting at a Mississauga apartment complex that left a 17-year-old dead and five others injured is linked to music videos filmed at the property.


“This was an ambush-type attack. The intended targets appeared to be a group preparing to film a rap video. The rap video that was shot at this location on an earlier date … has motivated this attack,” Chief Chris McCord told reporters Sunday afternoon.

“There is information within that rap video that is challenging other people within the community and that’s what’s upset them.”

Emergency crews were called to an apartment complex on Darcel Avenue, near Goreway and Morning Star Drive, at 6:22 p.m. on Saturday with reports of a shooting near a parkette at one of the buildings.

McCord said at least seven suspects armed with mostly semi-automatic handguns came to the scene on foot, wearing dark-coloured clothing and some wearing balaclavas.

“The attackers had complete disregard for public safety within our community … this was a targeted attack,” he said, noting at least 100 bullets were fired by the suspects.


McCord said many families were out enjoying the evening, adding that several people were lined up to buy treats from an ice cream truck.

“Those parents and children fled in the hail of bullets as they were fired into the complex,” he said.

“This is very brazen … [the suspects] had no regard for any of the innocent people that were gathered in here last night.”

The 17-year-old who died at the scene lived in the complex. McCord said the teen, who hasn’t been identified, doesn’t appear to be an intended target in the shooting.

“Our investigation leads us to believe that the young man who died last night was actually an innocent victim caught up in this indiscriminate attack,” he said.

Five people were taken to hospital Saturday evening with various injuries. All but one of the victims were still in hospital as of Sunday afternoon. Four of the injured victims are between 13 and 17 years old. A 50-year-old woman also sustained serious injuries.

McCord said it’s unclear if any of the injured people were participating in the music video.

He said officers haven’t identified those involved in making the video as of yet, noting many people took off from the scene.

Meanwhile, he said police will remain at the scene for some time as officers gather evidence and to provide additional security.

“We have never witnessed anything like this in Mississauga or in this neighbourhood. This is not common within the city of Mississauga,” McCord said.

“This still remains one of the safest cities in Canada and will continue to remain so because we will make sure it is.”

Mayor Bonnie Crombie attended the scene with McCord and said she was “shocked” and “saddened” by Saturday’s incident.

“I’m a mother, as you know. I’m the mayor. I was crushed to hear that there were individuals in our community, in our neighbourhoods, marring a beautiful evening with senseless—executing senseless violent crimes with semi-automatic weapons,” she said.

“You can see, I’m getting quite emotional about this.”

Crombie said she hasn’t spoken with the family of the teen who died yet, but added that “by all accounts, he was an outstanding young man.”

She called for increased guns and gangs funding from the provincial government — similar to money given to the City of Toronto.

“We know that this type of activity has no boundaries. They don’t respect city boundaries,” she said.

Crombie also called for the restoration of the community policing station at Westwood Mall in Malton, located a short distance away from the scene. She said the funding for the station, and others like it, was cut by the former police chief and police board members.
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Mississauga shooting was targeted at group filming rap video: police

Peel Regional Police Chief Chris McCord says the shooting in Mississauga that killed a 17-year-old boy and injured five others on Saturday was targeted.

Officers were called to Darcel Avenue near Morning Star Drive just before 6:30 p.m. The shooting is believed to have occurred close to a parkette behind a building complex.

The 17-year-old boy was pronounced dead on the scene. He lived in the complex and police say he was not the intended target of the shooting.

Neighbours and friends of the family have identified the boy as Jonathan Davis.

McCord said the “ambush-type” attack was targeted at a group filming a rap video in the area and some of the victims were innocent bystanders. He added that the victims are not directly related but it is possible that they know each other. It’s unclear if they are all from Mississauga or live in the complex.

A previous music video filmed in the area and released online was the motivation for the attack, he said. Officers are currently reviewing that video, but McCord says there is “information” in it that challenges other people in the community and “that’s what upset [the attackers]”

The suspects were dressed in dark clothing and balaclavas and McCord says they covertly approached on foot from the side of a building. Once they were in position, they “indiscriminately” fired into the parkette area with semi-automatic handguns and then fled on foot.

Peel Region Shooting:
7 suspects involved, dressed in dark clothing, trying to conceal their identity. They open fire in a Parkette, & a number of innocent victims are hit:
17 yr-old male shot dead.
13 yr-old girl
16 yr old
2 17 year old males (1 was released)
Women in her 50’s pic.twitter.com/xBZI8KyVtQ

— Faiza Amin (@Faiza_AminTV) September 15, 2019

One of the victims, a woman in her 50s, was taken to a trauma centre in life-threatening condition. Chief McCord said she is now in stable condition.

Four others also suffered serious injuries — the youngest being a 13-year-old girl. A 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys also suffered gunshot wounds. One of the 17-year-old boys has since been released and the other three victims are in stable, non-life-threatening condition.

A witness and family friend tells CityNews the 13-year-old girl recently moved to Canada with her family from Turkey and they are Syrian refugees. She was on the first floor of the building when she heard the shots and when she ran toward the window, she was hit by a bullet.

In a release, police say there are more than seven suspects and over 100 shell casings were found at the scene.

Investigators are looking to speak with the driver of an ice cream truck that was parked in the complex, where families with children were gathered at the time of the attack. As the events unfolded, the truck left the scene and police are asking the driver to identify themselves to aid in the investigation.

McCord said the suspects are still at large but there is no further threat to public safety and stressed that Mississauga remains one of the safest cities in Canada.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie also spoke with media and said she was “crushed” to hear of the “senseless, violent crime” and will advocate for increased funding to combat guns and gangs.

When I spoke to residents in Malton, they were visibly shaken & deeply upset. My thoughts are with the innocent young boy who passed & the victims who are still recovering. I'm advocating for increased funding for a police station in Malton & for our share of gun & gangs funding.

— Bonnie Crombie

Police will remain in the area for a considerable period of time. Witnesses or anyone with information is asked to come forward or leave an anonymous tip with Peel Crime Stoppers.
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Police looking for seven shooters in 'ambush-type attack' that killed bystander in Mississauga

 Police say that at least seven individuals armed with semi-automatic handguns “indiscriminately” opened fire on a group filming a rap video in a Malton parkette on Saturday evening, killing an innocent bystander in the process.

The shooting occurred in a parkette behind an apartment complex near Morning Star and Goreway Drives at around 6:30 p.m.

A 17-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene while five others sustained serious injuries. Those victims include a 13-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy, two 17-year-old boys and a woman in her 50s.

 Friends, area residents and a local community activist have identified the victim as Jonathan Davis.

At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Peel Police Chief Chris McCord said that investigators believe the suspects were motivated, at least in part, by another rap video that had been shot in the same parkette by the same group and released earlier this week.

That video, he said, contained information “challenging other people within the community.”

McCord said that police have not yet been able to ascertain how many of the victims were involved in the video shoot, though he said that at least some of those shot were bystanders who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“We believe their (the suspects) motive for coming here was to target those individuals shooting the rap video. There just happened to be a lot of people outside – it was a nice night last night – and they became victims caught up in this attack,” he said.

More than 100 shell casings located

McCord said that officers have located in excess of 100 shell casings and expect to find even more as they continue to comb the scene for evidence.

He said that it appears as though the suspects “covertly approached the side of the apartment building and then made their way along the side of the building” before getting into position and “indiscriminately opening fire” on those shooting the video in the park behind the building.

The suspects, he said, were all wearing dark-coloured clothing and many of them had on balaclavas to conceal their identity.

“This was very brazen. It was a beautiful evening. There was an ice cream truck here and there were families lined up outside the ice cream truck and then they (the suspects) came in and just indiscriminately opened fire with no regard for any of the innocent people gathered here,” he said.

‘A senseless event’

McCord said that one of the five surviving individuals struck by gunfire has since been released from hospital while the other four are listed in stable condition.

Speaking with reporters alongside McCord, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie described the shooting as a “senseless, tragic” act of violence.

“I am a mother and I was just crushed to hear that there are individuals marring a beautiful evening by executing senseless violent crimes with semi-automatic weapons,” she said. “My heart goes out to the family of this innocent victim, now deceased, who by all accounts was outstanding young man who lived here in the complex. It is just a senseless event.”

Crombie said that residents of the complex are understandably shaken in the wake of the shooting but she said that it is a “targeted and isolated incident.”

She said that there will be an increased police presence in the area for an extended time period.

“The community should feel safe,” she said.

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One person dead, five others hurt in Mississauga shooting Saturday September 14, 2019

One 17-year-old boy dead. Four other teens — two 17-year-olds, a 16-year-old and a 13-year-old — and a woman in her 50s suffered wounds in the rampage.
The night of bloody gunfire on Darcel Ave. — in Mississauga’s Morning Star-Goreway Drives area — came on a  beautiful late summer evening as kids played, a birthday party took place and music video was being filmed. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
This changed at 6:20 p.m. “It sounded like fireworks going off,” said one woman. But there were no fireworks. It was gunfire from semi-automatic weapons.
A heavily armed police officer patrols around a building following a shooting that left one teen dead and four other people injured.

“There were multiple individuals armed with semi-automatic weapons and there were a lot of rounds that have been fired in this complex,” said an outraged Peel Police Chief Chris McCord. And the damage was significant. “They fired at will,” said a neighbour. “It was crazy.” McCord said when police arrived, the first thing they found in a parkette behind the building was the 17-year-old boy who was killed.
“The officers tried to provide life saving measures to try to help this young person,” said McCord. But it was too late. When officers went inside the building, the found the wounded.
Officers are hard at work trying to determine who was behind this gutless attack on a neighbour in broad daylight with children playing and families vulnerable. “All of the individuals have fled the scene,” said McCord.
Peel’s Emergency Task Force officers cleared the area and looking under every bench and in every balcony as they searched for anyone who might be hiding.
The whole thing seemed surreal. As the sun set and a full moon rose, displaced families with their children were out on the sidewalks as armed police scoured the area searching for what McCord rightfully called the “culprits.” It takes a special kind of evil to shoot into a crowd of innocent people and children.
Sources say it was fortunate that more children were not hurt. “I just walked by there with my kids,” said Ade Thompson. “We could have walked right into that.” And others did find themselves in the middle of it. “There is a concern for public safety,” said McCord. “When you have people armed with weapons, we do have a genuine concern.”
Mayor Bonnie Crombie said she was “deeply shocked and saddened to hear of this senseless act of gun violence in our city.”
Peel police are working with their counterparts in Toronto and elsewhere as they determine who was behind this attack. “As a member of the Police board, I am committed to ensuring Mississauga remains one of the safest cities by working to get illegal guns off our streets,” said Crombie. “I want to extend my sincere thanks to our first responders who quickly respond to the scene.”
And the mayor and Chief McCord offered their condolences as well to the family of the dead teen. “It’s simply unacceptable,” said Crombie. She’s right.

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