Latest news with #Danforth
New York Times
26-07-2025
- New York Times
A Grim Anniversary in Canada's Fight Against Guns
Veteran police in Canada still remember the days when officers, stunned that a colleague had taken a gun off the street, would gather to have a look at the firearm. 'It would fly through the station,' said Paul Krawczyk, an inspector with the integrated guns and gangs task force of the Toronto Police Service, Canada's largest metropolitan police force. Seizing firearms is now a routine, and growing, part of the job for Canadian police, especially in Toronto. This week marked the grim anniversary of a mass shooting in 2018 in a bustling east Toronto neighborhood called Danforth. Two people — a teenager, Reese Fallon, 18, and a child, Julianna Kozis, 10 — were killed and 13 others were injured. The gunman killed himself after the attack, which police said was carried out with a Smith & Wesson handgun that had been legally imported into Canada from the United States, then stolen from its owner. Families of the victims filed a class-action lawsuit against Smith & Wesson in 2019, arguing that the gun manufacturer had been negligent in not installing 'smart-gun' technology, like fingerprint recognition, that could have prevented the unauthorized use of their firearms. The lawsuit was certified by a judge in June after an appeal. 'We're very relieved because we recognize the novel nature of the case,' said Ken Price, whose daughter, Samantha, was shot in the hip when she was 18. 'The gun manufacturers and the industry itself needs to be more concerned about how their guns are used,' Mr. Price told me. Canada in recent years has tightened its gun laws. It banned most assault rifles in 2020, after the country's deadliest mass shooting rampage in Nova Scotia. In 2022, the government introduced sweeping legislation to crack down on gun trafficking and put a freeze on the sale, purchase and transfer of handguns, of which about 1.1 million are registered in the country. Further restrictions on certain firearm models have come into effect over the last eight months as the government rolled out its gun buyback program for assault-style rifles. The program is currently open to business owners of gun stores, and will be available to individual firearm owners later this year. [Canadian reader call-out: Are you a gun owner? Do you operate a firearms business? Are you participating in the buyback? I'd like to hear from you. You can reach me at While the government moves to expand firearm restrictions domestically, some officials are calling attention to gun smuggling across the border. Aggregated data in a 2022 Canadian government report shows that about 32 percent of guns seized in crimes were smuggled from the United States, but the figures are much higher in urban parts of Ontario and Quebec. For example, in Peel Region, an area covering the populous suburbs west of Toronto, 90 percent of the 205 guns seized in 2024 came from across the United States border. Police forces have seen a steady rise in the number of illicit firearms traced to states with less stringent gun laws along the so-called Iron Pipeline along the Southern United States. In 2024, more than half of the illegal firearms seized in Quebec came from Ohio, Florida, Texas and Georgia, according to the provincial police. In his ongoing trade dispute with Canada, President Trump has renewed his focus on border security, but blamed Canada for trafficking 'massive' amounts of fentanyl south, a statement that has been disproved by American border data. 'My first thought was, what about all the guns coming north?' said Nando Iannicca, chair of the police service board in Peel Region, a civilian group governing police operations. Mr. Trump's bellicose tone on the border issue and tariffs, and his repeated threats of annexing Canada, has ruptured the relationship between the two countries. 'Canadian officials are perhaps understandably reluctant to provide these counterarguments in fear that they're somehow going to rattle or anger President Trump,' said Scot Wortley, a criminology professor at the University of Toronto who is studying the use of guns among inner-city youth. Toronto Police began tracking the origins of firearms in 2005, which came to be called the 'summer of the gun' after a spate of shooting homicides. 'If we're going to stop this crime, we have to stop these guns coming into the city,' said Inspector Krawczyk of the Toronto Police. 'We owe it to the citizens of Toronto,' he said. Trans Canada Canada's premiers gathered in Huntsville, Ontario, this week to discuss plans to fortify the country's economy in the ongoing trade war against the United States. 'Their patriotic unity swiftly dissipated into the regional rifts that have long divided the country,' writes Ian Austen. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would not accept a trade deal with the U.S. at 'any cost.' From The Athletic: The five players from Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team who were accused of sexually assaulting a woman were found not guilty. Serge Schmemann, an Opinion writer at The Times, reflects on deteriorating Canada-U.S. relations while on vacation in Labelle, Quebec. Here's the latest on wildfires in Western Canada. A new study has found that climate change is making fire weather worse. A small Canadian company called Central European Petroleum claims to have discovered large oil reserves in Poland. The car company Stellantis, which paused production at Canadian plants for several weeks because of Mr. Trump's tariff measures, said it had lost $2.7 billion in the first half of this year. Rescuers freed three workers trapped in a mine in British Columbia. A cat owner in British Columbia has been flooded by calls from people reporting that they've seen her cat — who has never been lost — because of a T-shirt. Vjosa Isai is a reporter at The Times based in Toronto. How are we doing?We're eager to have your thoughts about this newsletter and events in Canada in general. Please send them to nytcanada@ Like this email?Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here.
CTV News
21-07-2025
- CTV News
Man wanted by Toronto police after failing to follow release orders
Abdullah Al Mamun is wanted for 12 counts of failing to comply with his release order. (Credit: Toronto Police Service) Toronto police are searching for a man who they say has violated his release conditions this week. Police say they responded to a call just after midnight on Monday in the vicinity of Danforth and Woodbine avenues. The call was for a man accused of violating his release order to not contact another person. Investigators allege that the 'suspect contacted the victim on several occasions.' Abdullah Al Mamun, 23, of Toronto is wanted for 12 counts of failing to comply with his release order. Toronto police are seeking assistance from the public in locating him.
CTV News
05-07-2025
- CTV News
Suspect wanted after restaurant worker injured during robbery in Riverdale
Police say the man in the photos is wanted in connection with a robbery near Danforth and Chester avenues on Saturday, July 5, 2025. (Toronto Police Service) Toronto police are looking for a man after a restaurant employee was injured during a robbery in Riverdale Saturday morning. Police said the suspect tried to enter a restaurant in the area of Danforth and Chester avenues before opening hours, but staff told him to leave. He then approached a female employee sitting in the alley behind the restaurant and allegedly brandished a small pocketknife as he grabbed her bag. Police said the suspect fled on foot eastbound through the alley. Meanwhile, the employee sustained a minor injury, police said. On Saturday afternoon, investigators released images of the suspect, described as being in his 40s with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a black medical mask, a black baseball cap, a black hoodie, grey pants and black shoes. Police are requesting anyone with information to call them at 416-808-5500 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
CTV News
05-07-2025
- CTV News
Toronto police searching for three suspects wanted in east-end robbery
Police are searching for these two vehicles that robbery suspects used to flee. (Toronto Police Service) Toronto police are looking for three suspects who allegedly robbed one person of money in the city's east end on Friday. It happened in the area of Danforth and Woodbine avenues around 1 a.m. Police said the victim was walking to his vehicle when three unknown men approached him. Shortly after, there was a physical altercation during which the victim was struck several times, police said. The three men allegedly stole the victim's money and fled in two separate vehicles—a black SUV and a silver sedan. Meanwhile, the victim was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. One suspect is described as a Black male in his early 20s, approximately five-foot-eight, with a thin build, and wearing all black clothing. Police said he may have an injured left eye. The second suspect is believed to be a Black male, about five-foot-eight, and 150 pounds. He was last seen wearing all black clothing and a purple face mask. The third suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his early to mid-20s, six feet tall, 200 pounds and wearing all black clothing. On Saturday, police released photos of the two suspect vehicles. They are asking anyone with information to contact them at 416-808-5500 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
CTV News
28-06-2025
- CTV News
2 suspects accused of demanding money for unauthorized Toronto home repair
Police are searching for this pickup truck in connection with a mischief and fraud investigation. (Toronto Police Service) Toronto police are searching for two suspects who allegedly tried to defraud a homeowner after working on their property without permission. The incident happened on Tuesday morning near Danforth and Kelvin avenues. Police said two men approached a resident and told them that their home needed work. Without the homeowner's permission, the men allegedly started working. Police said the homeowner confronted the men, who then demanded money for their work. When the homeowner threatened to call the police, the men fled in a black pickup truck. Both suspects are described as white men between 25 and 30 years old, standing at five feet ten inches and wearing baseball hats. One of them had a medium build, strawberry-blonde hair, a beard, and was wearing a baseball hat, brown shorts, and construction boots. Police have released a photo of the truck described as having a stripe down the side. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5500 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
