Toronto festival shooting raises safety fears, even as gun violence has declined

TORONTO — Deadly gunfire at one of Toronto’s most popular street festivals has intensified fears over gun violence and raised questions about the level of safety at community events, even as police say shootings are on the decline.

Two people were killed and several others injured when bullets flew during the Salsa on St. Clair festival on Saturday, prompting the cancellation of its second day. Police said the two men who were killed were targeted and that they knew each other.

Business owners and residents in the area of St. Clair Avenue West said the brazen act of violence left them fearful and worried about the future of the festival, a long-running annual event that celebrates Latin culture, food and music.

Security at other festivals on the city’s packed summer calendar is now also under scrutiny.

Organizers of Taste of the Danforth, a popular foodfest that is set to return next month after a two-year hiatus, said they have been working with police and private security for months on a “comprehensive” safety plan.

They’ll make any needed changes in light of the recent shooting, but the street festival will go ahead as planned, said Tony Pethakas, the chair of GreekTown on the Danforth.

“Eliminating the places where large groups gather to celebrate isn’t an effective prevention strategy,” he said Tuesday, noting that violence can occur in any crowded public space.

In the wake of the Salsa on St. Clair shooting, Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw called for tougher penalties for those who engage in public gun attacks, even as he said shootings in the city are on the decline.

But a key sponsor of the midtown festival suggested that the chief and Mayor Olivia Chow downplayed the shooting at a Monday press conference, and the sponsor threatened to drop support for the event unless police ramped up security.

“Unless city officials provide concrete commitments to enhance policing and security on and around St. Clair Avenue, we will be discontinuing our involvement,” Aldo Di Felice, president of TLN Media Group Inc., said in a statement.

“We refuse to subject any of our people, friends, clients and community supporters to situations where public officials responsible for preventing crime and ensuring public safety resist the community’s calls to do better.”

When reached by phone on Tuesday, Di Felice would not elaborate further and said the statement spoke for itself.

The city said it was working with police and organizers to ensure people are safe at festivals, and that it’s “committed to reviewing its approach” to such events. The city said it will also support the creation of a Toronto Festivals Association “to help strengthen public safety.”

Ervin Waller, a professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, said safety concerns are normal after a shooting like this at a large public gathering. Toronto police have said an estimated 13,000 people were at Salsa on St. Clair when shots rang out Saturday night.

“I would expect it’s going to reduce the number of people who participate in events with large crowds,” Waller said. “That’s what we see from similar events previously in Canada but also in other countries.”

Waller said homicides and other violent crimes have been declining in recent years across North America, including in Toronto, but a high-profile, public shooting would naturally cause anxiety and increase fear.

“The feelings and the opinions are very much generated by media headlines rather than statistics,” he said.

Demkiw said Monday that shootings in the city have declined by more than 26 per cent compared to the same time period in 2025, but acknowledged the data doesn’t always align with how residents actually feel about crime.

“But when a brazen shooting occurs in a public setting … it understandably shakes the sense of safety and security that Torontonians expect and deserve,” he said.

Demkiw said shootings in public spaces that cause death “should be a pathway to first-degree murder” charges for those involved.

He also said continued investments are needed to make sure police have the resources they needs to counter gun violence in the city.

But Waller disagreed, saying “very large” amounts of money are already being spent on reactionary law enforcement measures.

He called for more spending on early intervention strategies and programs to prevent young vulnerable men from turning to criminal activities.

“Violence is eminently preventable … we know a lot about how to prevent it. The governments are just not putting their money where the knowledge is,” he said.

Toronto’s mayor has urged the federal government to work with the United States to stop the flow of illegal guns — which police said account for the majority of gun violence in the city — across the border.

“We will not let reckless criminals stop Toronto’s tradition of outdoor street festivals,” she told reporters Monday.

But Muhammad Asif, a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, said the damage is already done.

“People would be very much careful (about) participating in this kind of festival when there is a very large gathering in public spaces,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2026.

Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press