London police confirm incidents where guns are being discharged more common
With crime statistics, perception isn’t always reality. A small cluster of incidents, in a short time, can make it seem like there’s a larger problem.
But when it comes to gun use in London this year, that’s not the case.
“For 2021, certainly the numbers are trending higher than we’ve seen the past five years or so,” says London Police Service Det.-Sup. Paul Bastien.
He says that as of August, there had been 23 incidents where guns had been discharged and there have been three other incidents to this point in September.
“The fact is, the majority of the shootings that we investigate are not random. Many of them are targeted.”
The most recent shooting incident happened on Thurman Circle around 3 a.m. Saturday. A bullet sliced through a garage door of a home and slammed into a nearby wall.
Those close to the incident, who don’t want to be identified, say two post-secondary students were in the garage pumping up an air mattress at the time and were narrowly missed. They insist neither the house nor the students were targets.
One neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, says it’s known there are people who carry guns in the area but other residents won’t say anything because they don’t want to put themselves at risk.
“You don’t stick your nose in. You just keep your nose down and hope it doesn’t happen to you.”
Two recent fatalities have highlighted the concerns over gun violence; the Sept. 10 shooting death of 30-year-old Lynda Marques in a north London neighbourhood and the killing of 18-year-old Josue Silva, who was attending a field party in south London at the end of July.
Bastien says it’s important for people to understand that gun violence is still very rare.
“The thought of a random gunman out there shooting up random neighbourhoods is certainly frightening. That’s not the case here.”
Still, Bastien says it’s important that whenever someone has information about another person unlawfully carrying a firearm, they let police know, to ensure other lives aren’t lost.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
WATCH LIVE As former prime minister Mulroney lies in state, public tributes in Ottawa begin
Members of the public who wish to pay tribute to Brian Mulroney can visit his casket in Ottawa starting this afternoon.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Images taken deep inside melted Fukushima reactor show damage, but leave many questions unanswered
Images taken by miniature drones from deep inside a badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant show displaced control equipment and misshapen materials but leave many questions unanswered, underscoring the daunting task of decommissioning the plant.
DEVELOPING February inflation rate slows to 2.8% as price growth unexpectedly eases
Canada's annual inflation rate unexpectedly fell to 2.8 per cent last month, amid sharp declines in cellular and internet services as well as slower grocery price growth.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.