Ontario Solicitor-General Michael Kerzner urged Ottawa to step up inspections and protocols at the borders, as well as the Port of Montreal, and at intermodal terminals. Kerzner speaks during a news conference at the Toronto Police College in Etobicoke, Ont., on April 25, 2023.Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press
Ontario’s Solicitor-General is calling on the federal government to increase inspections at the U.S. border to stem the flow of guns into Canada, after a shooting earlier this week along a busy Toronto street led to weapons seizures and multiple arrests, including a 16-year-old who is charged with murder in another incident.
The shootout near Queen Street West and Dufferin Street in Toronto happened at around 11:15 p.m. on Monday, behind a recording studio, and involved dozens of people and a large number of what police described as illegal firearms. A video apparently taken the night of the shooting circulating on social media shows multiple people waving guns around at a party inside the studio just before the violence broke out. Police believe the video is authentic and it is now part of the investigation, although they couldn’t confirm it was filmed inside the studio the day of the shooting. Police have also confirmed the incident is gang-related.
Following the shooting, police seized 16 firearms, all of which they said originated in the United States, and arrested 23 people, eight of whom have been charged with firearms offences. Many of the guns were modified into fully automatic weapons, said police, who also seized two assault-style rifles and multiple handguns.
Among the people charged in Monday’s incident is a 16-year-old from Brampton who has since been charged with second-degree murder in a separate homicide that occurred in April. The teen’s name is protected by a publication ban. Two of the eight people charged with firearms offences were out on bail.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Solicitor-General Michael Kerzner said that almost every gun that is used in an illegal activity in Ontario is traced back to the U.S. He urged Ottawa to step up inspections and protocols at the borders, as well as the Port of Montreal, and at intermodal terminals.
“We have to get these illegal guns off our streets,” he said.
Gabriel Brunet, a spokesman for federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, defended his government’s measures, including a freeze on the sale, transfer and importation of handguns and giving law enforcement more resources as well as increasing the criminal penalties for gun trafficking. In 2023-2024, he said, the Canada Border Services Agency seized more than 27,000 prohibited weapons, and almost 900 firearms.
“Our government has taken action to make our communities safer by implementing the strongest gun control measures Canada has seen in decades,” Mr. Brunet said in a statement.
Toronto police were already in the area on Monday night looking for a man wanted for robbery when bullets started flying after three men pulled into a grocery store parking lot behind the recording studio in a stolen vehicle and fired 50 rounds.
There were dozens of people inside the recording studio at a birthday party, and a number of people came outside and began firing back, police said. The three initial shooters took cover behind an unmarked police vehicle, which had two officers inside. The police vehicle was struck by bullets on the front, back and side, narrowly missing the officers.
A second unmarked police vehicle hit the suspects’ vehicle and they fled by foot. Police arrested one person, while two others have not been apprehended. Police also made a series of arrests after people fled the recording studio, many of them discarding their firearms in garbage bins.
Toronto Police Staff Superintendent Joe Matthews likened the scene to something on television or in a movie and said it is a miracle no one was hurt or killed.
He told a news conference Thursday that what makes the situation unique is that those in the birthday party were “allegedly brazenly displaying these weapons on social media,” and then brought them to the streets and began firing.
“This highlights the ongoing challenge of cross-border gun trafficking and the urgent need for enhanced measures to prevent illegal firearms from entering our communities,” he said.