TORONTO (AP):
CANADIAN PRIME Minister Paul Martin warned of escalating gun violence in Canada, and Toronto police said the city has "finally lost its innocence" after gunfire erupted on a busy street filled with holiday shoppers, killing a 15-year-old girl and wounding six others - the latest in a record surge in gun violence in Toronto.
Across the city of nearly three million, there have been 78 murders this year, including a record 52 gun-related deaths - almost twice as many as last year.
A burst of gunfire Monday killed the girl and wounded other innocent bystanders. The shooting stemmed from a dispute within a group of 10 to 15 youth, and the victim was a teenager out with a parent near a popular shopping mall, police said Tuesday.
"I think it's a day that Toronto has finally lost its innocence," Police Det. Sgt. Savas Kyriacou said. "It was a tragic loss and tragic day."
The escalating violence prompted Martin to announce earlier this month that if re-elected in the January 23 election, his government would ban handguns. With severe restrictions already in place against handgun ownership, many criticised the announcement as politics.
Martin offered his condolences in a statement Tuesday, saying he was horrified by the shootings.
"What we saw yesterday is a stark reminder of the challenge that governments, police forces and communities face to ensure that Canadian cities do not descend into the kind of rampant gun violence we have seen elsewhere," Martin said.
