Kesean Williams
January 18: Tyson Bailey, age 15, died after being shot multiple times in a stairwell of a Regent Park apartment building.
January 23: Kesean Williams, age 9, died when he was shot in the head while he was sitting on a couch in the living room of his Brampton home watching TV. The shot came from outside the building.
February 11: St. Aubyn Rodney, age 15, died from a gunshot wound he received inside his own home in the Jane & Finch area where he had been with a group of his friends.
February 15: Naveed Shahnawaz, age 19, died as a result of being shot outside a nightclub when a fight broke out and a man began shooting into the crowd.
February 17: Javis Montaque, age 15, shot outside his home in Rexdale by an unknown gunman who just approached Javis and his two friends and shot randomly. Javis came to Toronto only two years ago from Jamaica and was a quiet, church-going grade 10 student. He had few friends and concentrated on his studies instead of “hanging out”.
The latest killing appears to be the “last straw” as police, including Chief Blair, the mayor, community leaders and ordinary citizens are all up in arms demanding answers and an end to the violence. But that has happened before – no answers seem to be forthcoming and the violence continues. It Makes No Sense!
In many areas of the city memorials have sprung up with flowers, candles, stuffed animals and posters. Families mourn, school kids mourn, communities mourn and all ask, “when will it end”. There is no answer! There have been no concrete solutions. It Makes No Sense!
UPDATE: Community Guns – is a term used to describe what police say is a factor in the gun violence occurring in the city. They say the guns are hidden in various places such as under floor boards, in garages, air ducts, etc., and in many cases shared with gang members and the like. On February 22nd police conducted raids on several of Toronto’s Community Housing buildings in high crime areas including Jane-Finch, Rexdale and Jamestown. They confiscated several guns as well as drugs. Search warrants were not necessary because the search was conducted in public access areas only and no arrests were made. Investigators will attempt to trace the guns to individual owners. The raid came five days after the killing of Javis Montaque and is considered a positive step in war against gun violence. Investigations into all the killings continue.
