The Jane-Finch District has been known for it's crime rate. But because of a new policing program in place in that area, as well as a new shopping mall, the rate of crime has dropped quite a bit.

So why did I choose that Destination? It was directly between a subway station where I came from and a restaurant that we planned to eat at. I figured that it was going to be a minor stop with nothing to worry about. Guess again. Had the gunfight took place in the northeast area of the lot, either myself, my girlfriend, or her sister could have been hit.

There was another possible place we could have met at, but it was farther away. I'll have to be smarter next time.

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"My Name is Elmer Fudd, Millionaire. I own a Mansion and a Yacht."
Psychiatrist: "Again."

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"Keep on Trekking"
-D. Kelly

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Okey, okey, here's my question:

News reports all around Toronto say that Jane-Finch used to have a lot of crime down there (but not as much as the typical American City). As I said before, it's gone down recently. This is the only major shooting in the area for quite a while now.

The other hotspot is Regent Park, closer to the downtown area. That area is also subject to a community policing program, and crime down there is also decreasing.

That's only one thing. While the overall crime rate is down, the magnitudes of crimes committed is going up. Six months ago, there was another gunfight just west of Jane-Finch. An innocent bystander was hit three times while trying to protect two girls. Luckily, he survived.

Admittedly yes, these kind of incidents are increasing in number, in contrast to the overall crime rate. So what do you suggest, Frank? Get more guns? Arm every civilian with a gun in the hopes that the crime rate will go down?

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"My Name is Elmer Fudd, Millionaire. I own a Mansion and a Yacht."
Psychiatrist: "Again."

And avoiding it now is a little bit like locking the barn door after the horses have bolted. They'll have tightened up security. If anything, the place will be more safe now, surely?

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"A plain, good-hearted woman who loves you is infinitely more beautiful than any "gorgeous" woman who values your possessioins more than you."
-- Me
http://www.geocities.com/cyrano_jones.geo/

It appears that the shooting took place not at the plaza I mentioned, but it happened in or around Driftwood Avenue, close to the Jane-Finch Intersection. Driftwood is very close to and runs parallel to Jane Street. I was on a bus travelling on Driftwood at the time. At Finch, between Jane and Driftwood is a plaza and that was where the victim was found. Apparently, he stumbled across Driftwood Avenue for help and collapsed in a pool of blood. The plaza is quite huge, so the three of us were not aware that any shooting had happened, nor of a victim stumbling across the street.

As for PsyLiam's questions, this was the first major shooting in the area for quite a while now IIRC. As for the plaza, there was a previous shooting in that plaza, but that was quite long ago (don't know how long......).

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"Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi

Update on the situation: It looks like there was a murder the day after the shooting just down Driftwood, south of Finch. I also found out about 2 weeks ago, also at Driftwood and Finch, 25 bullets were fired in a shootout. Fortunately, only a woman suffered an injury to her leg.

This is most unusual and disturbing, since that area has been peaceful for quite some time until these firefights broke out. It looks like that all three shootings are related to each other.