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rfmcdonaldWell, great. "Police suspect gangs behind Toronto BBQ shooting that killed 2, injured 24" is the headliner of the latest Canadian Press article on the shooting on Danzig Street.
Reacting to the shooting, mayor Rob Ford said that Toronto was still safe, that it was far from becoming a second Detroit. That is almost certainly the case--Toronto would have a long, long way to fall before approaching the stereotype, at least, of that Michigan city--but that is also setting the bar low. If Toronto is going to become a city where even low levels of indiscriminate gang violence becomes common--or, as the so far too-accurate "Three Torontos" paradigm would suggest, a city where low levels of indiscriminate gang violence become common in certain neighbourhoods, perhaps the same neighbourhoods evidencing high levels of poverty and socioeconomic exclusion--this will represent a terrible failing.
Reacting to the shooting, mayor Rob Ford said that Toronto was still safe, that it was far from becoming a second Detroit. That is almost certainly the case--Toronto would have a long, long way to fall before approaching the stereotype, at least, of that Michigan city--but that is also setting the bar low. If Toronto is going to become a city where even low levels of indiscriminate gang violence becomes common--or, as the so far too-accurate "Three Torontos" paradigm would suggest, a city where low levels of indiscriminate gang violence become common in certain neighbourhoods, perhaps the same neighbourhoods evidencing high levels of poverty and socioeconomic exclusion--this will represent a terrible failing.
The threat of revenge-fuelled violence weighed heavily on an east-end Toronto neighbourhood Tuesday as residents mourned the victims of a deadly shooting rampage at a bustling block party and police vowed to bring the gunmen to justice.
Officers pleaded for witnesses to come forward while promising to stand guard over those left shaken and fearful by the attack that killed two people and wounded two dozen Monday night.
About 200 people were at the barbecue held outside a community housing complex when two gunmen opened fire after an altercation in what police are calling the worst incident of gun violence in the city's recent history.
Police said they suspect gangs were involved in the shooting that killed 14-year-old Shyanne Charles of Toronto and 23-year-old Joshua Yasay of Ajax.
[. . .]
Messages of grief quickly appeared on social media even as some hinted the deaths could spur more violence.
"The hood gained another angel to look over us, RIP," one person wrote on Twitter.
Police Chief Bill Blair said police have received "some co-operation" from witnesses at the scene and called on all community members who attended the party to help with the investigation.
Police also asked for anyone with video or photos of the incident to send them in, a strategy they have used in similar investigations in the past.
"I'm here today to make an appeal through you all, to the many hundreds of people who were present at the event yesterday who may have some information relevant to this investigation to come forward," Blair said.
"We are very concerned not only with the quick resolution and solving of this crime but the potential for retaliatory violence, which we often see in this type of event," Blair said.
