Police have a male suspect in custody following a fatal shooting in Toronto’s Greektown overnight.
The incident happened around 2 a.m. Wednesday at Danforth Avenue and Jones Avenue.
Toronto paramedics said the victim, who was later identified by police as 35-year-old Danny Morales, died at the scene.
Jorge Jose, 27, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday. He is scheduled to appear in a Toronto court Wednesday afternoon.
Just under eight hours later, another man was found dead in a vehicle after he was shot near Jane Street and Weston Road.Police have yet to release any details about the suspect.
Gun violence has neighbourhoods shaken
Residents in the Danforth area say the rise in gun violence in the city has neighbourhoods shaken.
“It’s really disturbing. It’s really shocking. It’s one of an ongoing series of violent crimes we’re seeing more and more of in Toronto,” said Mike, who did not reveal his last name.
“It shakes you. It’s an area where we live in, where we go for entertainment in and activities. It sets you back. It makes you want to not go out. That’s the challenge.”
The shooting took place in the same area where a mass shooter opened fire last month killing two people and injuring 13 others.
“I would say without a doubt, for all of us in this neighbourhood, we are in shock that just one month later after such a huge shooting, such a horrific tragedy, that it’s happening again,” area resident Stewart Knight said.
Toronto mayor calls latest series of shootings ‘tragic’
Mayor John Tory addressed the recent shootings at a mayoral election campaign event at the Believe to Achieve Youth Centre in North York Wednesday morning.
“All of these events that are happening as recently as the last 24 hours are tragic and we want to bring that number down to zero or if we possibly can, as soon as possible,” Tory said.
Tory pledged that if he is reelected as mayor in the Oct. 22 municipal election, he will match the Ontario government’s investment of $25 million over four years to combat gun violence.
“I think people also know that with this type of gang activity and some of the other root causes, that a solution is not going to be magic or instant. We have to work together and that’s the most important thing and we have to work in a very deliberate way with the resources and I think they can take some encouragement from the fact we’re doing that and I think we’ll produce some positive results.”
— With files from Nick Westoll