An increase in fatal shootings and family violence contributed to a significant increase in homicides in Toronto in 2021, and mental health was a factor in more cases than in previous years, according to Toronto police data.
2021 has already been Toronto’s second deadliest year in more than a decade. Jamar Hall, 29, shot and killed on December 26, was the 84th homicide of the year in the city. His shooting was the city’s third homicide in a four-day period spanning Christmas week.
According to the Toronto police data portal dating back to 2004, only 2018 (97 homicides) and 2007 (86 homicides) were more lethal.
As in previous years, shooting remains the leading factor in Toronto homicide cases. This year, 46 people have died as a result of gun violence. In 2020, shootings claimed 38 lives in Toronto, 44 in 2019.
According to police spokesman Jenifferjit Sidhu, mental health plays an “increasingly important role” in the city’s homicide cases. About 32 percent of homicides this year were related to mental health problems. In 2020, 23 percent of the city’s 71 homicides were related to mental health problems. In 2019, mental health was a factor in 19 percent of the city’s 79 homicides, Sidhu said.
“In these situations they are mostly homicides that involve family members,” he said.
Four sixty-year-old women were allegedly murdered by their children, in three cases a son, in one case a daughter. Two men, one 68 and one 70, were allegedly killed by their children. In all but one of the incidents, the defendant was arrested at the place, the house where the father lived.
There were four murders in Toronto where police identified the alleged perpetrator as a close partner. They include Kim-Jessica Gagne, 33, whose husband Bronson Lake, 32, is charged with second-degree murder, and Ka Chai Ho, 75, whose wife Pak-lin Pauline Ho, 62, is charged. of murder in the first degree. Two other cases were ruled murder-suicide..
The two youngest homicide victims of the year were just two and three years old. The two-year-old girl was found to have suffered blunt force trauma and a 28-year-old man, Rodrigo Flores Romero, was charged with second-degree murder in May.
In March, Francis Ngugi, 45, allegedly poisoned three-year-old Bernice Wamala’s breakfast cereal. He is charged with murder in the first degree.
Both Police Chief James Ramer and Homicide Unit Commander Insp. Hank Idsinga said in early November that they were concerned about the increase in violence in the city and its lasting impact on communities. Gang activities and drugs remain at the core of the violence that leads to homicide cases, but mental health-related problems have also become prevalent.
“It is very possible that it is a product of the pandemic,” Chief Ramer said at the November press conference addressing the mental health component in homicide cases.
At the time, police were seeing a decrease in the total number of shootings compared to last year, and expected to achieve at least a 20 percent reduction by the end of the year. Currently, the total number of shots and discharges of firearms stands at 404, which represents a drop of 12.4% compared to 2020.
While homicide numbers are on the rise, police say the efforts of homicide detectives in collaboration with the general public have helped achieve a significant murder rate, meaning the suspects in these homicide cases are known and they are being persecuted or arrested and charged.
“We’re about 74 percent of our resolution rate this year,” Homicide Det said. Sergeant. Terry Browne.
One particularly deadly weekend in October saw eight separate shootings in Toronto that resulted in four deaths, including 73-year-old Christopher Jung, who died while working as a taxi driver, a job he had held for 40 years. The suspect, a 17-year-old teenager, is still wanted by a warrant across Canada to face charges of first-degree murder.
Another high-profile homicide case this year was that of Thane Murray, the 27-year-old mentor and community leader in Regent Park, in September. Police found a staggering 50 bullet casings at the scene and recovered video footage that captured dozens of shots in about 20 seconds.
Three months later, police arrested Noah Anderson and Jahmal Harvey, both in their 20s. Each of them is charged with first degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. A third man, Jabreel Elmi, 27, is still at large.
After the two arrests, Idsinga praised the community’s efforts to help solve many of Toronto’s homicide cases.
“Our investigators do a tremendous job every day to resolve these cases and ultimately provide answers to families and loved ones,” Idsinga said in December.
With files from Wendy Gillis
Reference-www.thestar.com