Two people died and 13 were injured Sunday evening in the Greektown neighborhood in Toronto after a man opened fire on an eatery. The two killed included the gunman and a young woman, believed to be a child. At least one other victim, also a young woman, is in critical condition. The gunman was killed after exchanging fire with the police.
Dramatic footage of the incident shows the gunman walking down the street, before brandishing a handgun and opening fire on a nearby eatery. The motive of the gunman remains unknown. So far, his name and other personal information has not yet been released.
Toronto has seen a dramatic uptick in gun violence this year. Through the year so far, 26 people have been killed by gun violence. This represents a 53 percent increase from a year prior, while the overall number of gun-related issues has climbed by about 13 percent. Most shootings in Toronto occur between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Still, while Toronto’s gun violence is rising, rates remain far below those found in many large American cities. Toronto is home to about 2.7 million people, making it nearly identical population-wise to Chicago. However, Chicago suffers from much higher levels of shooting-related crimes. There were nearly 2,800 shooting victims in 2017, with 625 people dying from their injuries.
Outside of Toronto, many other Canadian cities have also seen a marked increase in gun violence over the past several years. In 2016, Canada suffered 223 gun-related deaths, up 44 instances from a year prior. This compares to roughly 11,000 gun-related homicides in 2016 in the United States.
Even if we adjust for population, Canada still suffers far fewer gun-related homicides. The United States is roughly 10 times larger than Canada. Adjusted for population, Canada would have suffered roughly 2,200 gun-related homicides, well below the United States’ 11,000.
It’s hard to find current gun ownership rates in Canada. The United States has far more guns per capita than Canada. The United States has 120 guns per 100 people (2017) versus 34.7 for Canada. However, these numbers could be skewed by gun collectors and others who own large quantities of firearms. Either way, Canada is a gun-owning culture but suffers significantly fewer gun-related crimes.
