Multiple People Shot in GTA During Labour Day Long Weekend

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Published September 5, 2018 at 2:10 am

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A violent long weekend capped off an unusually violent summer in the GTA.

Over the Labour Day long weekend, Peel and Toronto police were called to investigate multiple shooting incidents in the region.

On Sept. 3, Peel police arrested 27-year-old Brampton man Patrick Doyle in connection with two homicides that took place in the city over the weekend.  

According to police, the two separate shootings took place early Sunday, Sept. 2, claiming the lives of two male victims and seriously injuring one female victim.

The victims have been identified as 27-year-old Clifford Correia from Brampton and 33-year-old Derrick McKeown from the Georgetown area.

Police said evidence suggests the incidents were targeted and potentially related to each other.

In nearby Toronto, the city was rocked by several deadly incidents.

Toronto police say that on Saturday, Sept. 1, at approximately 3:40 a.m., two men allegedly stabbed a 24-year-old man on a TTC streetcar in the Spadina Avenue and King Street West area.

On Friday, Aug. 31, police were called to the scene of a shooting in the Burnhill Rd. and Warden Ave. area. The victim, 24-year-old Alpha Conteh, succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

On Sept. 2 at approximately 1:52 a.m., one man was pronounced dead following a shooting in the Alford Cres. and McLevin Ave. area in Toronto. He was identified as 30-year-old Rudolph Augustus Tyrell.

That same day, a man was fatally gunned down at Coronation Park in Toronto.

On Monday, Sept. 3, police charged four people with firearm-related offences following a traffic stop in Mississauga. 

This unusually violent summer has prompted police forces in Toronto and the GTA to call upon all levels of government for support in curbing gun-related crimes. It has also compelled Toronto Mayor John Tory to call for a handgun ban.

According to the Peel Regional Police Annual Report, police have seen an increase in gun violence and have laid well over a hundred shooting-related charges.

As far gun violence goes, police say over 100 bullets have been fired this year.

But while the statistics might seem alarming, police have stressed that, overall, gun crime is low in the Region of Peel.

“Gun violence remains a top priority for Peel Regional Police and that is clear when you look at crime rates,” police say. “Macleans magazine recently ranked the Most Dangerous Cities in Canada and Peel ranked 116th place which was low on the list for firearms offences.”

And while gun-related crimes appear to be higher than in previous years, the report says Peel is still safer than other regions.

“Our solvency rates for property and violent crime are above the national and provincial rates,” a report summary reads. “Violent crime rates in Peel Region were and continue to be below provincial and national averages.”

Still, police say gun crimes appear to be on the rise.

From January through the end of July 2018, Peel police officers reportedly took 247 firearms off the streets of Brampton and Mississauga.

In all of 2017, officers took 429 guns off the street. 

“As a service we are concerned about the escalation in gun violence, not only within our region, but across the entire Greater Toronto Area. Our Street Level Organized Crime Unit is dedicated full-time to investigating gun and gang-related activity,” police said in a recent news release.

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