It's a term you've heard a lot in the GTA since the murder of 15-year-old Jane Creba on Boxing Day 2005 - the Year Of The Gun.
Police in the city are fearful we may be heading through another season of heated firearm violence, after seven murders in the last two weeks - and several instances of gunplay that have left others wounded in Toronto.
How bad have things become? Consider this - this season already has the potential to be worse than what we endured just a year ago. The numbers tell the tragic tale. This season has seen a 13.8 percent increase in gunfire and a whopping 31.8 per cent hike in victims over 2007. The murder total stands at 36.
July has been especially bloody (
see list below.)
Many admit they're afraid of doing almost anything for fear of invoking the wrath of an unthinking gunman. "You can get shot just for tapping somebody the wrong way on a crowded sidewalk," shrugs Lisa Critch, a building superintendent on Weston Road, the scene of a shooting on Saturday. "That's how sad this city has become."
She insists the victims in that case were simply out enjoying the night air when shots rang out. "Poor guy and his buddy came out to have a cigarette and someone tried to come into the building, didn't say anything to him, put his hands on the door, turned around, walked away, turned and shot the kid for nothing."
Most of the shootings this past weekend took place in the west end. Many of the killings have hit members of Toronto's black community hard. How can it be stopped? Some argue it will take a sea change in society itself to silence the violence.
"The gun is a symptom of the problem," argues Dr. Anthony Hutchinson, a youth advocate. "The problems are the deep-rooted systemic issues: barriers to education, barriers in literacy, barriers to employment. And until we get serious about those systemic concerns across our community and across our cities, we're not going to see gun rates and violence rates go down."
July Shootings
Here's a look at the number of incidents we've experienced in just the last month alone - and while everyone hopes there won't be any more, the fact remains there are still a few more days to go in July. Click on the date for more information on each case.
July 9
th
The city's 15
th gun related death of 2008 shakes residents near Victoria Park and Lawrence around 7pm when a man's lifeless body is found sprawled at an apartment complex. Another man suffers wounds to his shoulder and arm and is lucky to be alive. Police believe the survivor was the intended target. Witnesses heard as many as nine shots echo in the late summer sunshine and as many as 7 suspects were seen speeding away from the area.
Justin Brunet was just 21 when he died in that hail of bullets.
July 12
th
A 22-year-old man is left paralyzed after being seriously wounded on Mornelle Court near Morningside and Ellesmere. Gunshots ring out around 7pm but cops get little help from hostile residents. It will not be the last time police will be on the street this month.
July 17
th
Toronto's latest homicide comes at a familiar address: Mornelle Court. The victim: 17-year-old Shazad Khawaja, who was found critically injured at the scene. Paramedics laboured desperately to save him but his wounds proved fatal. Cops say the shooting is linked to the one five days earlier. Both Khawaja and the victim in the previous case knew each other. A 25-year-old will later be arrested.
July 18th
Someone shoots at the mother of slain youngster Jordan Manners as she sits at her apartment complex early in the morning. It's believed the dispute centered over a bad break-up involving the family. No one is hurt but all are left shaken.
July 18
th
Just hours earlier, police were dispatched to Bloor and Brunswick in the Annex, where as many as five bullets hit two people, although neither was fatally wounded. The shooter remains at large.
July 19
th
Michael Watson goes out to have a good time at the Inner Circle nightclub on Rylander Blvd. but never comes home. He's shot at the scene around 1am and dies soon after. He's murder victim #32 for 2008.
But that wasn't the end of the gunplay that day. Hours later, cops respond to MacDonald Ave. near Jane and Lawrence,
after reports of gunfire. No one was hit but a car was seen speeding away from the area. Shots were also said to have been heard at Lawrence and Weston Road, but no one was hit in that case, either.
July 20
th
As terrible as all the other violence has been, the city is rocked anew by a senseless triple murder. Three men are found dead in an SUV near Brown's Line and Evans Ave. All of them had been shot to death. Cops would later find the murder scene nearby after speaking to the driver, who is not considered a suspect.
July 21st
Detectives are looking for the brazen gunmen who fired at a man in the lobby of an Islington Ave. apartment building around 8pm. Only the intervention of other building residents prevented the incident from becoming a possible homicide.
July 26th
A man dies after being gunned down outside a local church dance hall near Jane and Falstaff. Two other men were hurt. Cops aren't sure the victim was the intended target. Devon Wynter was 40-years-old.
July 27th
A man is shot in the face at Eglinton and Black Creek Drive. He remains in serious condition.
Another man is gunned down on Trethewey Drive hours later. He's stabilized and rushed to hospital.
See the police stats on the shootings for 2008 as compared to previous years.