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The group that hosts Salsa on St. Clair is threatening to pull the plug on the festival unless it sees accountability from the City of Toronto and its police force in relation to a shooting that took place Saturday that left two dead.
In a statement Tuesday, TLN Media Group said it was “maddening” to see officials standing at the scene of the crime and “normalize mass shootings.”
“Unless City officials provide concrete commitments to enhance policing and security on and around St. Clair Avenue, we will be discontinuing our involvement,” the organization wrote.
“We refuse to subject any of our people, friends, clients and community supporters to situations where public officials responsible for preventing crime and ensuring public safety resist the community’s calls to do better,” TLN Media Group added.
Two residents in the area near Toronto’s Salsa on St. Clair festival recount the moment shots rang out on Saturday night. Two people were killed and multiple injured after a shooting.
Salsa on St. Clair is an annual event that has been celebrating Latin culture, food and music since 2005.
On Saturday, two men were killed and five others were injured at the festival after gunfire erupted in the area of St. Clair Avenue W. and Arlington Avenue. On Monday, Toronto police identified the two men killed as 25-year-old Shaquan Quashie and 20-year-old Cesar Vernaza. No suspects have been arrested in connection with the shooting.
The festival was cancelled for Sunday.
Posts to social media reporting groups of people “looking for trouble” at recent Toronto street festivals should have been a cautionary indicator, the organization said.
“City officials were or should have been aware of these warning signs,” TLN Media Group said. “Public officials are responsible for directing and empowering police to deploy the necessary resources to respond to such threats before they turn into crime scenes.”
According to Tuesday’s statement, only Coun. Mike Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence) demanded officials should do everything in their power to prevent incidents like these.
“Saturday night’s horrific shootings destroyed a joyous, safe, family-friendly celebration of Latino culture,” TLN Media Group said. “Our hearts go out to all those affected by this senseless violence.”
CBC Toronto reached out to the city for comment.
The second day of Toronto’s Salsa on St. Clair festival has been cancelled after a deadly shooting killed two people and injured several others.
The organization went on to say Salsa on St. Clair was initiated as a way to help revitalize a dominant business strip with well-known Latino restaurants.
The organization said, however, that it is thankful to Toronto police for the “quick and overwhelming” response to the incident.
Gun violence in crowded setting ‘alarming’: police chief
In response to a request for comment, Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said the service stands by what Chief Myron Demkiw said in regards to the incident at a news conference Monday.
“Events like this need to serve as a reckoning,” Demkiw said. “The fact that individuals would use guns in a crowded public setting, with no regard whatsoever for the safety of those around them, is alarming.”
Toronto police will continue to do everything in its power to tackle gun violence, but everyone has a role to play, including parents, schools, legislators and community organizations, Demkiw added.
“We all need to work together to make sure that the kind of behaviour we witnessed this weekend does not become the norm and is never accepted as such,” he said.
