Gunshots heard in northwest London ‘not a random incident,’ police say

London police say overnight reports of gunshots in the city’s Orchard Park neighbourhood, off Sarnia and Wonderland roads, are not a “random incident.”

Police say officers were called to reports of gunshots outside a home on Blue Forest Place shortly after midnight Thursday.

According to police, officers on scene determined that a home “suffered damage” but the exact cause has yet to be determined.

Police say multiple people were inside the home at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported.

The homeowner, who spoke with Global News but did not want to be identified, said he doesn’t think the damage was caused by a gun, but rather a blunt object such as a hammer.

Mackenzie Sulyak lives a few doors down from where the damage took place and woke up around 1 a.m. Thursday to a police officer knocking on her door.

“I thought maybe there was a car crash outside or something and (the officer) said ‘there’s been gunshots’ and of course I didn’t hear any of that,” Sulyak said.

“I heard from both my neighbours on the side and one of them had slept through the entire thing and the others, they just said they didn’t hear anything… I don’t think anyone heard anything for the most part other than the people who reported it.”

Sulyak, who described Blue Forest Place as a typically quiet area filled with families and retired people, said she was surprised to hear reports of gunshots in her neighbourhood.

“I thought maybe it was one of the Hasty Markets over there, but never anything in the households because that’s just something you hear more in the U.S.”

The LPS crime gun task force, recently formed to address an increased number of gun-related incidents in the city, is investigating.

So far in 2021, London police have responded to at least 13 reported shootings or incidents of shots fired — seven in April alone.

Just Wednesday evening, a 20-year-old man arrived in hospital suffering from a gunshot wound.

Before that, police were called to multiple reports of shots fired in the Glen Cairn area just before 2 a.m. Wednesday.

On Sunday, police responded to a 911 call regarding possible gunshots in the 2000 block of Wavell Street.

Last week, a 17-year-old boy was seriously injured after a shooting on Walker Street, which police believe was connected to two previous shooting incidents on March 2.

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On April 6, London police reported that three teenagers were facing several firearm-related charges after a teen ended up in hospital with a gunshot wound in London’s east end.

On April 4, police said officers discovered evidence a gun had been fired northwest of Wharncliffe Road South and Commissioners Road West.

Police ask anyone with information in relation to the incident on Blue Forest Place, “or who has information in relation to illegal firearm activity on our streets” to call them at (519) 661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Police say information can also be sent online anonymously to Crime Stoppers.