Danforth drive-by shooting leaves 20-year-old Toronto man dead - Action News
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Toronto

Danforth drive-by shooting leaves 20-year-old Toronto man dead

Torontonians who live near Danforth Avenue are saying enough is enough after a young man was killed early Sunday morning during a drive-by shooting near Coxwell Avenue.

'We want action,' local leader says after area plagued by rash of violence

Toronto police officers were investigating outside of Cloud Nine Caf after a man was found injured outside the establishment early Sunday morning. (CBC)

Torontonianswho live near DanforthAvenue are saying enough is enough after ayoung man was killed early Sunday morning during adrive-by shooting near Coxwell Avenue.

The victim has been identified asAbdullah Farah, 20, of Toronto.

Police said they received several callsabout the sound ofgunshots around 1:30 a.m. The shots came from a moving vehicle, Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook told CBC News. Anywhere from four to eight shots were fired.

Police arrived a short time later and found a victim without vital signs outside 1524 Danforth Ave. They said he waslyingon the sidewalk between two parked cars on the side of a caf.

An ambulance took himto the hospital, where he later died.

Police say the homicide team is investigating but they have no information on who may have been inside the vehicle when shots were fired. However, they do believe the vehicle involved was a white sedan travelling eastbound on Danforth Avenue at the time of the shooting.
Coun. Mary Fragedakis says she doesn't believe three murders can take place in the same area without an underlying cause behind them and is calling on the mayor to act. (CBC)

'People are frustrated'

Local residents and councillorsconverged outside Cloud Nine Caf to speak about the recent spate of violence in the area.

Coun.Mary Fragedakis told CBC News these violent incidents on Danforth Avenue are "troubling." Since September 2013, two othermurders have occurred in the same area.

"I don't believe that lightning can strike three times in the same place, or near the same place,"Fragedakis said.

"People are frustrated and we're frustrated along with them," she said. "We want action."

Residents feel unsafe

Michael Rusek lives in the area andtold reporters he is "very concerned" with the string of violence. He saidcity councillors can't blame bureaucracy for being unable to address the issue.

"Change the laws so that we can tackle these issues," he said. "We can't use bureaucracy as an excuse anymore because people are being shot, residents are feeling unsafe."

Coun. Paula Fletcher echoed Rusek's concerned and said anyone walking by could've been hit by the flying bullets.

A frustrated resident confronts Coun. Paula Fletcher about the violent incidents that have occurred over the past few years near Danforth and Coxwell avenues. (CBC)
"We really are dealing with a systemic issue," she said. "I want to make sure that this location is dealt with."

Both councillors have called on several city officials, including Mayor John Tory and Police Chief Mark Saunders, to do more to ensure the violence on Danforth Avenue comes to an end.

Following the rally, Rusek wrote on Facebook that he received a call from Fragedakisinforming him that the caf's lease is being terminated and that the property owner has announced she will be finding new tenants.