Toronto gun violence focus of leaders' summit
CBC News
Posted: Jul 22, 2012 5:48 PM ET
Last Updated: Jul 23, 2012 8:31 AM ET
Toronto police statistics indicate that more than 20 people have died as a result of gunfire since the start of the year. (Aaron Vincent Elkaim/Canadian Press)
The prevention of gun violence will be the topic of conversation when Toronto Mayor Rob Ford meets with the city's police Chief Bill Blair, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and other members of the provincial government Monday.
According to the most recent stats posted on the Toronto police website, 21 people have been killed as a result of gun violence since the start of the year.
Four of those victims have been killed since last Monday evening, when two people got into an argument and a shooting erupted at a block party on Danzig Street in the city's east end. Two people died as a result and 23 others were wounded.
By Thursday morning, two more people had died in separate gun-related killings in the city — one in a parking lot on the edge of a soccer field, the other in a schoolyard.
Monday’s summit involving the police chief, the mayor and provincial officials was called in response to the Danzig Street shooting.
The goal is to talk about methods of preventing such incidents in future, though the mayor and the premier appeared far apart in their preferred approaches in advance of the meeting.
Ford has said he supports giving more resources to police, while the premier has said a balanced approach is needed, with an eye to the long-term nature of the problem of gun violence.
Funeral for Danzig Street shooting victim
While the leaders meet to discuss how to prevent similar events in future, a group of friends and family will gather to remember one of the victims of the Danzig Street shooting.
Joshua Yasay was one of two people who lost their lives in the block party shooting, along with 14-year-old Shyanne Charles, a Toronto teenager who lived in the neighbourhood and who was due to begin high school in the fall.
Yasay worked for a security company and he had earned a degree in criminology from York University. The Ajax, Ont., resident wanted to become police officer and he had volunteered with youth for several years.
A friend who attended a weekend visitation for Yasay said he was a passionate basketball fan, coach and dedicated volunteer.
"It was just so random, you know. He’s not one of those people to be involved in anything bad," said Michael Zajc, still coming to terms with his friend’s death.
"He does community work, he finished criminology, he stands up for justice — and justice has to be had right now, because what he stands for, it’s not happening in our city."
Yasay’s funeral takes place Monday.
Share Tools
Latest Toronto News Headlines
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine
- The mayor of Canada's largest city told a packed news conference that he doesn't use crack cocaine and isn't a crack addict — and new allegations surfaced Saturday involving Ford's brothers. more »
- Big-time lobbyists attended pricey Mammoliti bash
- Two of the most powerful lobbyists at city hall attended a $5,000-a-table fundraising soirée involving Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti, CBC News has learned, raising questions about whether all three people followed municipal rules governing their conduct. more »
- Blue Jays come up short against Orioles
- The Baltimore Orioles jumped out to another big early lead against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday at the Rogers Centre, and once again it held up as the O's won 6-5. more »
- Hockey Canada votes to ban bodychecking in peewee hockey
- Hockey Canada's board of directors voted to eliminate bodychecking from peewee-level hockey on Saturday in Charlottetown. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Toronto mayor's brother says he never dealt drugs
- The brother of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has vehemently denied allegations in Saturday's Globe and Mail that he was involved in the illicit drug trade in the 1980s. more »
- Hockey Canada votes to ban bodychecking in peewee hockey
- Hockey Canada's board of directors voted to eliminate bodychecking from peewee-level hockey on Saturday in Charlottetown. more »
- Neil Macdonald: How serious is Obama about curbing the drone surge?
- In a key speech this week, the U.S. president set out a host of supposed new safeguards for America's controversial practice of remote-controlled rough justice. But as Neil Macdonald writes, the underlying rationale for drone use has not fundamentally changed. more »
- Ontario man lost in Australian mountains has survival skills
- The sister of an Ontario man who disappeared in Australia's Snowy Mountains nearly two weeks ago says she remains hopeful he will be found, partly because of his training as a Canadian Forces reservist. more »
- Toronto mayor's brother says he never dealt drugs
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine
- Man charged 20 years later in sexual assault of 9-year-old girl
- Executive committee calls on Ford to address crack video allegations
- Rob Ford fired chief of staff for telling mayor to 'get help'
- Toronto councillors say Ford scandal not over
- Alleged Ford crack video seller not responding to calls
- Big-time lobbyists attended pricey Mammoliti bash
- Read Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's full statement


Toronto traffic with Joan Chang