Defense
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Shaheer Danial of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community holds a sign at a makeshift memorial on Danforth Ave. where people are adding flowers and messages to honour and remember the victims of Sunday night's mass shooting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 24, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. A 29-year-old man opened fire on restaurants and cafes in Toronto's Greektown neighborhood killing a 10-year-old girl and a young woman and wounded 13 others.
- Toronto wants to ban the sales of handguns and ammunition following a deadly mass shooting in its Greektown neighborhood which left three people, including the shooter, dead and 13 people wounded.
- The council voted to urge the federal government to ban the sale of handguns and ammunition in Toronto.
- They also voted to increase spending on mental health programs, enhance surveillance programs, and crack down on gun trafficking.
Toronto wants to ban the sales of handguns and ammunition following a deadly mass shooting in its Greektown neighborhood which left two people and the gunman dead and 13 people wounded on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the city council took several steps to reduce gun violence within the city, including voting 41-4 in favor of a motion urging the federal government to ban the sale of handguns and ammunition in Toronto.
The set of proposals call on Ontario to fulfill a $1.9 billion funding promise towards mental health programs. It also includes requests for the federal and provincial governments to implement a gun buyback program, enhance surveillance programs, and crackdown on gun trafficking.
The five-year outline would cost an estimated $44 million to implement.
Toronto Mayor John Tory voted in favor of the proposals.
"Why does anyone in this city need to have a gun at all?" Tory asked at a city council meeting on Monday.
An 18-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl were killed on Sunday evening after 29-year-old gunman Faisal Hussain opened fire in Toronto's popular Greektown neighborhood. Thirteen other people were also wounded.
Hussain's parents said their son suffered from severe mental health issues, including psychosis and depression. He had exchanged gunfire with police and was later found dead, authorities said.
Hussain's motive remains unclear, and terrorism has not been ruled out.
Toronto has been faced with an uptick in gun violence this year. According to CBC, 29 of 58 homicides in Toronto so far have been related to gun violence, compared to 17 fatal shootings at this time last year.