The CCFR Week in Review

Gun crime down 30 per cent, but Montreal police say it's too soon to call it a success

Violent crime involving firearms is down nearly 30 per cent compared to this time last year, according to the chief of the Montreal police service (SPVM), who says it's still too soon to say whether or not their strategy to curb armed violence is paying off.

At a news conference Thursday morning, Fady Dagher said from Jan. 1 to May 31, 2023, officers have made 120 arrests in connection with events involving guns and seized 367 firearms -- mostly handguns and semi-automatic weapons -- which is 107 more guns seized this time last year. 

In the same five-month period, there were 40 incidents where firearms were discharged, compared to 58 in the same period in 2022.

So far this year, police recorded 16 attempted murders where a firearm was used, which is down from 20 this time last year. Dagher also highlighted the fact that there have been six arrests related to three homicides in the first five months of the year, which is half the number of killings recorded around this time in 2022.

"This is really impressive police work and my hat's off to all our investigators," Dagher told reporters.

The police force said in recent weeks it has mobilized sworn and civilian personnel into teams called "Collectives" who work in a more centralized way to target and prevent armed violence.

"We had a unit for prevention, we had a unit for drugs, a unit for guns. Now, we're taking people from each of these units and bringing them to the same table and really giving the mic to intelligence officers to tell us who are the individuals who have committed acts and are at risk of committing them again, who are those who are victimized and are at risk to taking revenge and then looking at them with different angles…and trying to figure out which is the best action to prevent any gunfire from happening," said Insp. David Shane, who heads the SPVM's communications branch.

Read more at CTV News Montreal here

Bystanders among those injured in weekend ByWard Market shooting in Ottawa

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Guns and Gangs Unit continues to investigate an early morning shooting in the ByWard Market over the weekend.

Officers responded to the shooting on Clarence Street around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, which left four people injured, including bystanders.

Investigators believe this to be a targeted incident but haven’t identified any suspects at this point.

Read more at CityNews here

1 dead, 1 seriously injured after shooting in St. Catharines

A man is dead and a woman is in hospital after a shooting in St. Catharines, Ont., Saturday night. 

In a press release, Niagara police say the suspect in the shooting has not yet been found and "is believed to be armed and dangerous." 

Police say there is no evidence of a risk to the public and that the shooting was targeted. 

The shooting took place near St. Paul Street West and Louth Street, said Niagara EMS communications superintendent Jaclyn Bentley. 

Bentley said the woman was taken to hospital outside of Niagara region with "life threatening injuries." The man was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Niagara police say they searched the area of the shooting extensively with emergency task unit members and K9 officers. 

Police tweeted that the area had a heavy police presence and asked residents to avoid the intersection on Saturday night.

Read more at CBC News here

Man fatally shot in vehicle in northwest Toronto

Police are searching for a suspect after a man was fatally shot in a vehicle in northwest Toronto on Monday morning.

The man, believed to be in his late 40s, was likely shot while driving, according to Toronto police spokesperson Duty Insp. Ryan Forde. Forde could not say if the shooting was targeted or not. 

The vehicle was found parked on the sidewalk in the area of Steeles Avenue West and Fenmar Drive, where it remained under a blue tarp for hours on Monday. Officers were called to the scene at about 11:30 a.m.

Police from Toronto and York Region both responded to the call. York police administered first aid, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Eleven shell casings were found on the street in the area, Forde added.

"There is no danger to the public at this point right now, but obviously we don't have anybody in custody at this point. There is somebody out there who committed this crime this morning," he said.

The homicide unit has taken over the investigation. Toronto police's integrated gun and gang task force was also at the scene.

Read more at CBC News here

Man dead, woman in hospital after 'targeted' residential shooting in Aurora, Ont.

A homicide investigation is underway in Aurora, Ont. after someone entered a home and shot two people, leaving one person dead, in what investigators are describing as a targeted shooting.

It happened at a home on Stubbs Lane, near Leslie and Wellington streets, at approximately 12:17 p.m. Monday, York Regional Police Sgt. Clint Whitney told reporters at the scene.

Whitney said police were called to the area for a report of a shooting at a residential address. When officers arrived on scene, he said, they found a man and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, Whitney said. The woman was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Whitney said the two victims are known to each other and lived at the residence, but investigators are still working to determine the nature of their relationship.

Although Whitney said there is no suspect information to release at this time, investigators believe the shooting was targeted.

“At this stage of the investigation, as you can appreciate it’s in its infancy, it’s very early stages, but the indications are that we’re looking at a targeted shooting,” he said, adding it’s unclear if the entry to the home was forced or not.

Images from the scene appear to show police tape at the entrance of a nearby residence.

“[This is] a quiet residential area. This sort of thing is very much out of the norm...” Whitney said.

Read more at CTV News here

3 seniors accidentally fire gun through hotel room after hunting gophers

A call of "shot fired" that led to the deployment of a tactical police team turned out to be a simple accident involving a trio of gopher hunters in Weyburn on Monday, police say.

According to the Weyburn Police Service (WPS), the call was received from a local hotel on June 12.

A guest in the hotel was nearly hit by a bullet that was fired through the wall from the room next door, police say.

WPS had the hotel evacuated and the Joint Tactical Police Team (JTST) made up of Weyburn and Estevan police were brought in.

Police later resolved the incident after discovering three “elderly” men had accidently fired one of their rifles into the next room while putting the weapons away.

The men were hunting gophers in a rural area earlier in the day and didn’t realized one of the guns was still loaded, the release said.

The trio did not realize the bullet had penetrated the headboard and reached the room next door.

All three men were charged with unsafe storage of a firearm, while one of the men was charged with an additional count of careless use of a firearm.

Read more at CTV News Regina here