Canada discusses gun control after shootings



[ad_1]

 Toronto police officers in Danforth Street, on the scene of the shooting that killed two people, July 23, 2018 / AFP

Toronto police officers in Danforth Street, on the scene of the shooting that made two dead, July 23, 2018 / AFP

A shootout of passersby on a Toronto street, killing two people, including a 10-year-old child, shocked Canada, which was discussing gun control Monday.

And while the questioning resumed more of the succession of violence that hit the country in recent months, a man was arrested Monday on Parliament Hill in Ottawa after trying to stab a soldier at the ceremony protocol of the changing of the guard.

The motives were unknown for both events, according to the authorities

On Sunday night in Toronto, an 18-year-old girl and a 10-year-old girl were killed and 13 people were injured – some seriously – 29-year-old gunman identified as Toronto's Faisal Hussain, city police chief Mark Saunders said Monday,

Shooter opened randomly at pedestrians walking on Danforth Avenue before targeting crowded restaurants.

Quickly arriving at the scene, police opened fire on the man, who was found dead moments later in an alley, investigators said.

The shooting erupted in the late evening, wreaking havoc in Toronto's bustling Greek neighborhood where witnesses said more than 20 shots had been fired.

The police chief pointed out that it was too early to say anything about the motives of this man, who used a handgun.

But according to his family, he had been suffering from "serious mental problems" since childhood, which he was never able to overcome even though he took medication and followed therapies.

"I promise everyone Toronto, and even more so to those who have been affected by this tragedy, that we will spare no effort in providing answers to this senseless attack, "said Toronto Mayor John Tory.

" That's an attack on innocent families and on the whole city is a tragedy, another tragedy in our city this year ", regretted John Tory.

In April, a man at the wheel of a van had hit pedestrians in Toronto, targeting mostly women and killing 10 people, one of the deadliest attacks in the country.

– "Weapons Problem" –

Between the beginning of 2018 and on July 14, Toronto saw 220 shootings that killed 27 people , against 196 exchanges of shots and 17 deaths for the whole year 2017, according to official statistics. This gunshot violence has increased by 10% over the same period last year.

In the face of this increase in gunshot violence, mainly by gangs, the Toronto police announced last week that plan for a reinforcement of some 200 additional police officers, intended to be deployed at night in sensitive neighborhoods.

For the mayor, the shooting of Sunday night reflects the fact that his city, the fourth largest metropolis in North America , has "a gun problem".

 Deadly shootings in Toronto / AFP

Deadly shootings in Toronto / AFP

"Weapons are too easily available to too many people," Tory said, although Canadian legislation on the wearing of weapons is much more severe than in the United States, for example.

"Why would anyone need a gun in this city?", he wondered, reviving the debate on Firearms Control in Canada

The previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper ruled in 2012 by abolishing the requirement for Canadians to register their rifles and shotguns and ordering the destruction of data collected since that time. the entry into force of this register in 1998.

As a sole ruler, Quebec reinstated at the beginning of the year a register obliging all gun owners in the province to register them with the government. [19659004] In March, the government Justin Trudeau's liberalized term has tightened the conditions for owning firearms with increasing violent crime, but without committing to recreating a national system making the registration of all weapons mandatory.

The official statistics institute Monday brought water to the mill of gun control advocates by publishing figures that show a rise in crime for a third consecutive year in the country in 2017, with an increase 7% of the homicide rate, for a total of 660.

In addition, according to Statistics Canada, 7,700 Canadians were victims of a violent crime in 2017 involving a firearm, continuing the upward trend that began. in 2013.

afp

[ad_2]
Source link