It’s a record that has stood for more than a quarter of a century — a mark Torontonians hoped would never be surpassed.
But sadly there are 90 reasons we should all be concerned now that 2018 has become the most violent year the city has ever endured.
Back in 1991 when there were 89 murders — a huge jump from the 55 a year earlier — Toronto was plagued by a crack cocaine epidemic that led to drug dealers and desperate addicts being stabbed to death and gunned down at an alarming rate.
A spike in gun and gang violence gripped the city again in 2005, dubbed The Year of the Gun after a record high 52 of the 80 murder victims were killed by firearms.
The high homicide rate continued for the next several years — the worst being 2007 when there were 86 murders, 44 by guns — but Toronto Police cracked down hard on street gangs and murders fell to numbers not seen in decades.
Between 2011 and 2015 killings hovered between 51 and 59.
However, as cops began to be vilified and their ability to police proactively was handcuffed by politicians overreacting to complaints from small but vocal groups such as Black Lives Matter, the gun and gang problem resurfaced with a vengeance.
Shootings more than doubled in recent years, and understaffing within the police service becoming ever more apparent, so it was only a matter of time until bodies began to drop at record rates.
This year began typically enough with 14 homicides through the first three months, the first involving a senior citizen killed in Etobicoke just days into 2018.
Barbara Kovic, 76, was slain in her home on Farley Cr., near Martin Grove Rd. and The Westway and her elderly husband, Ante “Tony” Kovic, 81 — who suffers from dementia — was charged with the second-degree murder.
It was the first of seven domestic murders to date — killings allegedly committed by spouses, sons, a grandson and most recently — and perhaps most disturbingly – a young father.
Three-week-old Isabelle, affectionately known as “Izzy,” was rushed to hospital Oct. 18 from her Scarborough apartment. The newborn became the youngest homicide victim so far in 2018 when she was taken off life-support three days later.
Her father, Matthew Bouffard, 29, was arrested for aggravated assault but it’s expected that charge will be upgraded to second-degree murder.
The number of murders nearly doubled in April when 13 people were killed — 10 run down by a van in North York as they walked along a Yonge St. sidewalk.
That horrific attack claimed the lives of Hun Kim, 22, So He Chung, 22, Geraldine Brady, 83, Min Chul Kang, 45, Anne Marie D’Amico, 30, Munir Abdo Habib Najjar, 85, Dorothy Marie Sewell, 80, Andrea Bradden, 33, Beutis Renuka Amarasingha, 45, and Mary Elizabeth Forsyth, who at 94 is the eldest homicide victim so far this year.
Alex Minassian, 25, faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder for the deadly attack.
The sudden spike in homicides — bringing the total for the first four months of the year to 23, an average of nearly six per month — was chalked up by police as an anomaly because of the van attack.
But since then another 67 body bags have been filled, mostly by victims of suspected gang-related shootings. That’s an average of more than 11 per month since May, making it undeniable that Toronto has a major problem.
Gunmen have opened fire at will — often in broad daylight and in areas teeming with people.
Israel Zion Edwards, 18, was gunned down in a crowded Yonge-Dundas Square in May.
A shootout in the Entertainment District in June killed Jahvante Smart, 21, aka Smoke Dawg — a rapper with ties to Drake and Regent Park’s Halal Gang — and Ernest Modekwe, 28, aka Koba Prime or Kosi.
But the bullets often missed their mark and innocent bystanders were caught in the crossfire.
Ruma Amar, 29, was outside a North York bowling alley when she was killed by a stray bullet in March. And Jenas Akousa Nyarko, 31, was simply arriving at her Lawrence Heights home after attending a funeral when she was killed in a drive-by.
Even children playing in a park aren’t safe as we saw in June when two young sisters were injured by gunfire in Scarborough.
Also in June, police understaffing came under fire when cops took two hours to respond to 911 calls for an assault in progress in Parkdale that ultimately ended with Joseph Perron, 50, beaten to death.
In July, police Chief Mark Saunders and Mayor John Tory finally acknowledged the gun and gang violence was spiralling out of control. They initiated a gun violence reduction strategy that included deploying an extra 200 officers on Toronto streets during peak hours for the remainder of the summer beginning July 20.
But during the eight-week effort, which carried a $3 million price tag and forced frontline cops already complaining about being burned-out to work more overtime, homicides actually rose considerably.
Just two days into the initiative on July 22, gunman Faisal Hussain, 29, went on a shooting rampage in Greektown.
Reese Fallon, 18, and Julianna Kozis, 10, were killed and 13 people wounded before the shooter turned his gun on himself.
There have been numerous other high-profile murders that made headlines in 2018.
Rhoderie Estrada, 41, a mother of three, was found slain May 26 in a bedroom of her home on Torrens Ave., in East York, and it’s believed her killers entered the house through a window.
Two strangers — Yostin Francisco Murillo, 22, and David Beak, 23 — were later arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
On May 28, tech entrepreneur Matthew Staikos, 37, was executed by an unknown gunman on Bay St. near Yorkville Ave.
Yasuke Hayahara, 73, was deliberately pushed off a subway platform at Yonge-Bloor TTC station and killed by a train on June 18. John Reszetnik, 53, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Michael Lewis, 30 was gunned down Sept. 2 in Coronation Park, near Lake Shore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave., at a vigil for Kamal Hercules, who was shot dead in 2009. Andrew Douglas, 25, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
And on Sept. 8, Rocco Scavetta, 65, was shot to death at his Toronto Weston Flea Market while attempting to stop a robbery. A boy, 16, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
With 90 murders so far and two months remaining in 2018, the city is on pace for about 110 homicides, which would smash the 1989 record.
Toronto is also poised to set a new record high for gun murders, currently at 44, and the 19 stabbing deaths so far are more than the city has seen in over a decade.
HOW THEY DIED
SHOT: 45 (may break record of 52 set in 2005)
STABBED: 19 (most in more than a decade)
OTHER: 24
TORONTO MURDERS BY THE NUMBERS:
1990: 55
1991: 89 (record high)
1992: 65
1993: 59
1994: 66
1995: 60
1996: 58
1997: 61
1998: 56
1999: 49
2000: 61
2001: 61
2002: 62
2003: 67
2004: 64 (27 by gun)
2005: 80 (52 by gun) (Year of the Gun)
2006: 70 (43 by gun)
2007: 86 (44 by gun)
2008: 70 (37 by gun)
2009: 62 (37 by gun)
2010: 65 (32 by gun)
2011: 51 (28 by gun)
2012: 57 (33 by gun)
2013: 57 (22 by gun)
2014: 58 (27 by gun)
2015: 59 (27 by gun)
2016: 75 (41 by gun)
2017: 65 (39 by gun)
2018: 88 (45 by gun as of Oct. 24)
MONTHLY DEATH TOLL
JAN.: 5
FEB.: 3
MAR.: 6
APRIL: 13 (10 in van attack)
MAY: 10
JUNE: 13
JULY: 9
AUG.: 12
SEPT.: 10
OCT.: 7
MURDERS BY POLICE DIVISION
11 Division: 3
12 Division: 3
13 Division: 1 (safest)
14 Division: 4
22 Division: 7
23 Division: 10 (deadliest not including van attack)
31 Division: 6
32 Division: 14 (deadliest including van attack)
33 Division: 3
41 Division: 8
42 Division: 5
43 Division: 3
51 Division: 6
52 Division: 4
53 Division: 2
54 Division: 6
55 Division: 3
2018 MURDER VICTIMS
1) JAN. 3: Barbara Kovic, 76, was found slain in her Etobicoke home. Her husband, Ante “Tony” Kovic, 81, is charged with the second-degree murder.
2) JAN. 9: Shaquille Wallace, 22, was shot to death at a TCH lowrise in Etobicoke. No arrests have been made.
3 & 4) JAN. 19: Terrel King Carr, 24, and Nasurdin Nasir, 26, were killed and two other men wounded when a car was shot up in Etobicoke. Ubaid Said, 21, is wanted for two counts each of second-degree murder and attempted murder.
5) JAN. 29: Simon Zerezghi, 25, was stabbed to death on Yonge St., south of Wellesley St., and a second person was injured in a swarming. Colin Defreitas, 25, and Craig James, 32, are charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
6) FEB. 11: Isahaq Omar, 36, was shot and tossed from an SUV in a North York neighbourhood near Bayview and Finch Aves. No arrests.
7) FEB. 15: Anik Stewart, 21, was shot dead outside a Scarborough bar. Aruran Suthakaran, 21, is charged with second-degree murder.
8) FEB. 27: Terence Coughlin, 59, was assaulted and killed near Bathurst St. and St. Clair Ave. W. Curtis Ashley Wheatley, 35, is charged with first-degree murder.
9) MARCH 3: Shaun Kinghorn, 44, was shot dead on Jane St., north of Finch Ave. W., after leaving a Chinese restaurant. No arrests.
10) MARCH 6: Essozinam Assali, 27, was stabbed to death in her apartment near Don Mills Rd. and Hwy. 401. Her boyfriend, Onaseta Oribhabor, 30, was also found dead in the apartment in what was ruled a murder-suicide.
11) MARCH 10: Dwayne Anthony Vidal, 31, was ambushed and shot in the back as he arrived home to his Rexdale townhouse. No arrests.
12) MARCH 16: Nnamdi Ogba, 26, was shot dead walking to his parked car on Scarlettwood Ct. in Etobicoke. Abdullahi Mohamed, 22, Abdirahman Islow, 27, and Trevaughan Miller, 19, are charged with first-degree murder.
13 & 14) MARCH 17: Ruma Amar, 29, and Thanh Tien Ngo, 31, were shot to death at a North York bowling alley. No arrests.
15) APRIL 6: Bryan Thomas, 32, was shot dead on Terraview Blvd. in Scarborough. No arrests.
16) APRIL 10: Fesal Mohammad-Sobir, 26, was stabbed to death at an East York convenience store. Ahilan Chandrasekaramoorthy, 30, is charged with first-degree murder.
17) APRIL 21: Joel Newby, 23, was stabbed to death at a highrise in Scarborough. Joshua Isiah Bewley, 27, is charged with first-degree murder.
18 to 27) APRIL 23: Ji Hun Kim, 22, So He Chung, 22, Geraldine Brady, 83, Min Chul Kang, 45, Anne Marie D’Amico, 30, Mary Elizabeth Forsyth, 94, Munir Abdo Habib Najjar, 85, Dorothy Marie Sewell, 80, Andrea Bradden, 33, Beutis Renuka Amarasingha, 45, were all killed when a van deliberately drove along a sidewalk in North York. Alex Minassian, 25, faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.
28) MAY 6: Robert Joseph Walker, 48, was stabbed to death at an apartment building in the Beaches. No arrests.
29) MAY 5: Christopher Reid, 38, was found fatally shot in his car in Etobicoke. No arrests.
30) MAY 20: Mohammed Sahil Gharda, 17, was shot dead and another man injured while in a vehicle in Scarborough. No arrests.
31) MAY 20: Jaiden Jackson, 28, left Drake’s restaurant Pick 6ix and was chased by two men on foot and one in a car who gunned him down on an underground parking garage ramp off Wellington St. W. near Yonge St. No arrests.
32) MAY 23: Abbegail Judith Elliott, 21, was stabbed to death in highrise in the Annex. David Oregon Castro, 25, and Sarai Lopez Iglesias, 26, are charged with first-degree murder.
33) MAY 26: Rhoderie Estrada, 41, a mother of three, was found dead from a head injury in a bedroom of her East York home. Yostin Francisco Murillo, 22, and David Beak, 23, are charged with first-degree murder.
34) MAY 25: David William Long, 55, was stabbed to death in an apartment building in the Upper Beaches. Tiek Anthony Za Kydd, 21, and Noah Hurlock, 19, are charged with first-degree murder.
35) MAY 28: Suthesan Venojan, 21, was ambushed and shot dead behind Lester B. Pearson Collegiate in Malvern. No arrests.
36) MAY 28: Matthew Staikos, 37, was gunned down execution-style on Bay St. near Yorkville Ave. No arrests.
37) MAY 30: Israel Zion Edwards, 18, was gunned down in Dundas Square. No arrests.
38) JUNE 5: Rodney Marshall Rizun, 45, was found shot to death in an Etobicoke townhouse. No arrests.
39) JUNE 9: Aaron Rankine-Wright, 19, was stabbed to death in little Portugal. Two boys, 17 and 13, are charged with first-degree murder. A man in his 20s still sought.
40) JUNE 12: Victoria Selby-Readman, 28, was slain in a Trinity-Bellwoods apartment. Richard Gordon Issac, 41, is charged with second-degree murder.
41) JUNE 14: Joseph Perron, 50, was beaten to death in Parkdale. Raymond Moore, 42, is charged with second-degree murder.
42) JUNE 16: Paul Spilchen, 29, was stabbed to death out front of a Scarborough bar. Michael David MacKinnon, 42, is charged with second-degree murder.
43) JUNE 18: Yasuke Hayahara, 73, was deliberately pushed off a subway platform at Yonge-Bloor TTC station and killed by a train. John Reszetnik, 53, is charged with first-degree murder.
44) JUNE 23: Winston Freckleton, 56, was stabbed to death at a Rexdale plaza. Joseph Roy Whittick, 30, is charged with first-degree murder.
45 & 46) JUNE 24: Patrick McKenna, 20 and Dalbert Allison, 40, were gunned down in a Rexdale residence. No arrests.
47) JUNE 24: Jenas Akousa Nyarko, 31, arrived home from a funeral when she was gunned down in an apparently random drive-by in Lawrence Heights. No arrests.
48) JUNE 25: Brent Young, 41, was shot to death in an apartment near Dundas and Sherbourne Sts. Warren Farrell, 26, and Mark Thompson, 39, are charged with first-degree murder.
49 & 50) JUNE 30: Jahvante Smart, 21, aka Smoke Dawg, and Ernest Modekwe, 28, aka Koba Prime or Kosi, were killed and a woman was wounded during a shootout in the Entertainment District. No arrests.
51) JULY 1: Matthew Lidster, 29, was stabbed to death in a fight after exiting a TTC bus at Danforth and Greenwood Aves. Paul Napolitano, 19, is charged with second-degree murder.
52) JULY 1: Marcel Teme, 19, was killed and three men injured in a shooting near College St. and Augusta Ave. No arrests.
53) JULY 8: Karim Hirani, 25, was gunned down on Driftwood Ave., north of Jane St. and Finch Ave. W. No arrests.
54) JULY 9: Jibri Husani James, 39, was shot to death on Shoreham Ct., north of Jane St. and Finch Ave. W. No arrests.
55) JULY 5: Carolyn Campbell, 52, was found dead in her Scarborough apartment. Her common-law husband, Josiph Cardle, 44, is charged with second-degree murder.
56) JULY 21: Kerry Romain, 47, was found suffering from fatal trauma to his chest on a sidewalk on Eastern Ave., east of Broadview Ave. Roger Foreshaw, 45, is charged with second-degree murder.
57 & 58) JULY 22: Reese Fallon, 18, and Julianna Kozis, 10, were killed and 13 others wounded when gunman Faisal Hussain, 29, went on a shooting spree on Danforth Ave. in Greektown and then killed himself.
59) JULY 25: Kevin Boakye, 24, was gunned down in his vehicle while stopped at a red light near Islington and Finch Aves. No arrests.
60) AUG. 15: Andre Pheonix, 33, was gunned down in a Rexdale parking lot. No arrests.
61) AUG. 18: Elena Marcucci, 84, was stabbed to death in her home near Kipling Ave. and Dixon Rd. Her grandson, Michael Colastosti, 31, is charged with second-degree murder.
62) AUG. 18: Jack Meldrum, 15, was killed and two others wounded in a stabbing at a south Etobicoke condo. A boy, 15, faces second-degree murder charges.
64) AUG. 19: Jesse Graham-Richter, 22, was ambushed and shot to death at an apartment building near Adelaide and Parliament Sts. No arrests.
65) AUG. 22: Jermaine George Titus, 32, was killed while driving on Jane St. near Weston Rd. when a gunman opened fire from another vehicle. Shamoi Palmer, 23, is charged with first-degree murder.
66) AUG. 14: Joey Stele, 48, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in south Etobicoke. Constantinos Hondrocostas, 40, is charged with manslaughter and other related offences.
67) AUG. 24: Kafi Abshir, 30, was fatally stabbed in an apartment building near Weston Rd. and Lawrence Ave. W. A boy, 17, is charged with first-degree murder.
68) AUG. 24: Cecil Graham, 49, was killed in an altercation in Scarborough. Garfield Chambers, 43, is charged with second-degree murder.
69) AUG. 29: Kristopher Quiroz-Brown, 19, died in hospital from injuries suffered when he and two others were stabbed at a south Etobicoke condo on Aug. 18. A boy, 15, faces second-degree murder charges.
70) AUG. 29: Colleen Maxwell, 73 was found dead in her Regent Park apartment. Her son, Matthew Kirk Maxwell, 37, is charged with second-degree murder.
71) AUG. 31: Alpha Conteh, 24 was shot dead in Scarborough. No arrests.
72) SEPT. 2: Rudolph Augustus Tyrell, 30, was killed and another man injured in a shooting in Scarborough. No arrests.
73) SEPT. 2: Michael Lewis, 30 was gunned down in Coronation Park during a vigil for 2009 murder victim Kamal Hercules. Andrew Douglas, 25, is charged with first-degree murder.
74) SEPT. 8: Rocco Scavetta, 65, was shot to death while trying to stop a robbery at his Toronto Weston Flea Market. A boy, 16, is charged with second-degree murder.
75) SEPT. 8: Chad Day, 42, was found dead outside a Parkdale building. It’s believed he was involved in an altercation on a balcony and fell to his death. Lee Newelln, 30, and Christopher Small, 28, are charged with second-degree murder.
76) SEPT. 11: Ameer Saib, 50, was stabbed to death at an Etobicoke apartment building. His son, Noah Saib, 20, is charged with second-degree murder.
77) SEPT. 14: A boy, 16, was shot dead at a Scarborough apartment building. No arrests.
78) SEPT. 18: Jago Anderson, 19, was shot to death behind a Scarborough strip mall. No arrests.
79) SEPT. 19: Nader Fadael, 45, was killed by a man armed with a machete. Sepehr Yeganehfathollah, 25, is wanted for first-degree murder.
80) SEPT. 24: Paul ‘Boulos’ Rizk, 27, was gunned down outside the Parkway Forest Community Centre. No arrests.
81) SEPT. 25: Mackai Bishop Jackson, 15, was shot to death in a Regent Park apartment building. No arrests.
82) OCT. 2: Dwayne McMillan, 44, was shot dead at an industrial plaza on Keele St. south of Steeles Ave. W. No arrests.
83) OCT. 3: Elliott Reid-Doyle, 18, was gunned down at a Scarborough plaza. Amal Jones, 19, is charged with second-degree murder.
84) OCT. 5: Clark Sissons, 67, was found dead in an alley near Eastern and Broadview Aves. No arrests.
85) OCT. 11: Roy Zamora, 26, was found shot to to death in his car near Keele St. and Wilson Ave. No arrests.
86) OCT. 20: Stephen Louis MacDonald, 28, was stabbed to death at Kennedy subway station. Mohammad Raswoli, 20, is charged with second-degree murder.
87) Oct. 21: A three-week-old baby girl, Isabelle, died in hospital three days after she was put on life-support. Her father, Matthew Bouffard, 29, was arrested for aggravated assault but it is expected the charge will be upgraded to second-degree murder.
88) OCT. 21: Edward “Ted” Sharron, 58, died in hospital from injuries suffered when he was beaten during an Oct. 12 robbery near Church and Dundas Sts. Jason Hadfield, 34, faces second-degree murder.
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