Members of Toronto’s Dixon Road community are calling on government officials to provide additional support to end gun violence in their neighbourhood following a string of fatal shootings in the past week.
“We need the Ministry of Child and Family Services to come and visit Dixon because there are a lot of organizations claiming they are offering programs in Dixon such as mentoring program, outreach and prevention programs,” Farhia Warsame, executive director of the Somali Women’s and Children’s Support Network, said during a rally Thursday attended by members of the Somali community.
“All of that is not happening in this area.”
Warsame said after-school resources are thin and marginalized youth who have nowhere to go are often tempted to join the wrong crowd.
“We’re really here to request the minister to come meet with us,” Warsame said. “We need a prevention program before everything happens.”
READ MORE: Police identify 16-year-old fatally shot in Etobicoke on Thanksgiving weekend
Two men were killed and another two were injured following two separate shootings in north Etobicoke between Oct. 5 and 9.
Abdulkadir Bihi, 29, of Toronto was fatally shot last Thursday afternoon when police located him in a vehicle in front of an apartment building on Dixon Road.
Police have since charged two suspects with first-degree murder in connection to the homicide.
Four days later, a 16-year-old boy died of his injuries in hospital following a triple shooting in the parking lot of Kingsview Village School on Dixon Road and Islington Avenue.
READ MORE: Man dead after shooting in Etobicoke
The two other victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The deceased was identified as Zakariye Ali of Toronto.
Police have yet to identify any suspects in connection to the case and the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).