I am just wondering, in reference to the following story, were the guns used registered?
The target of a drive-by shooting that left a 4-year-old boy wounded in the legs and hip was an older brother, police sources say.
The shooting of four people on Driftwood Ave., near Jane St. and Finch Ave. W., and two other shootings Wednesday night sparked an immediate reaction from the public and police.
While neighbours and community leaders decried the violence, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair launched a task force to combat gunplay in the city's northwest end.
"Children are being caught in the crossfire of rival gangsters," Blair said at a news conference at police headquarters yesterday. "When a child is so recklessly and wantonly put at risk, as was the case in this case, it demands an overwhelming response."
Those wounded in the Driftwood Ave. shooting were innocent victims, he said, adding the community is dealing with an escalating gang turf war.
Blair has increased the number of uniformed officers on the streets and is assigning "several dozens of officers" to the area to assist with investigating violent crimes.
The wounded boy, Shaquan Cadougan, remains in the hospital but is expected to recover from his gunshot wounds.
The shooting was just one of three within three hours in the city's northwest end.
The first left one man dead and another wounded after shots were fired from a vehicle driving past a townhouse complex on John Garland Blvd.
More than 20 adults and children were gathered for a backyard barbecue to celebrate a boy's 14th birthday when Giancarlo Savino, 25, was fatally shot and another guest, a 31-year-old named Earl, was wounded in the leg. Police have no suspects in that case.
Two other shootings followed — one just before 10 p.m. on Driftwood Ave., where three people and the 4-year-old were struck, and another about two hours later near Jane St. and Sheppard Ave. W. In that incident, shots were fired but no one was injured.
Police have charged one man and arrested three others in relation to the latter two shootings. They are believed to be connected.
"The reality is that we have seen reductions in violent crime in the city of Toronto," Blair said. "I'm gratified by that, but I take no comfort in that. I don't think that any of us can be comforted by statistics or even by arrests when children are being injured in random gunplay on the streets of Toronto."
Craig Reid, 23, of Toronto, faces 58 charges, including eight counts of attempted murder and four counts of aggravated assault. He is also being investigated in connection to two shootings on Gosford Blvd. in May and July, and a third on Driftwood Court on July 30.
Reid was arrested at a bar on Garyray Dr. after police received calls that a man was
boasting about his involvement in a shooting.
Yesterday morning police arrested three teenagers — age 17, 18 and 19 — after a Honda alleged to have been used in at least one of the drive-by shootings was found on fire on Sheppard Ave. W. Blair said it is likely the trio will be charged.
Police have recovered a 40-calibre handgun and 9-millimetre handgun thought to have been used in the shootings. According to a source, police have also seized a large quantity of drugs in the case.
As well, Reid and some of his "associates" are being investigated by the homicide squad for recent unsolved slayings, the source said.
Because the investigation is ongoing, the chief said he could not provide details about the shooting that injured four people or the intended target. The three adults were released from hospital, but Shaquan remains in hospital. Blair took a teddy bear to the youngster and met with his family to offer assistance and protection.
Homicide officers are asking for the community's assistance in Savino's slaying.
His father Mike said yesterday the family moved from the Rexdale neighbourhood 10 years ago in search of a better life. Mike Savino returned to the neighbourhood to see where his son was killed.
He took a picture of the sidewalk outside a townhouse to show his other children. Asked if his 25-year-old son was connected to gangs, Savino said, "I think he's past the gang stage. He was old. People in the gang stage are 19." He believes his son was a victim of bad luck. "Wrong place, wrong time."
For several weeks police have been investigating the escalation of violence in the community and attribute much of the gunplay to disputes between rival gangs.
"There is an ongoing dispute between two different groups, two different gangs," Blair said. "Certainly we are very concerned about the impact that this violence has had on innocent people." The police chief would not reveal what gangs are involved in the turf war but said the new task force has identified many of those involved and will continue to do so.
"There is no doubt that there is a gang war," Supt. Ron Taverner told yesterday's news conference. "We have to dismantle these gangs and that's what this whole initiative is about, getting at the gangs."
"We've done this before," Blair said, referring to Project Pathfinder, an initiative that dramatically decreased the number of violent crimes and slayings in the Malvern area.
The project included a 10-member investigation team and resulted in 140 charges against 20 people. Since November 2002, bloody attacks by alleged members of the Galloway Boys left four people dead and seven others wounded.
At Queen's Park yesterday, Premier Dalton McGuinty acknowledged that government and police are doing a lousy job of controlling gun crimes. "It's something that calls for a concerted effort and a stronger effort because, clearly, what we are doing at the present time is less than adequate," he said.
with files from isabel teotonio, naomi carniol and rob ferguson
