Shooting fallout: TCHC head promises to evict anyone with a gun
The area where the shootout happened in Scarborough is part of Toronto Community Housing.
Danzig Street is home to hundreds of people who live in community housing and were taking part in a street party.
Shelly Dupuis, who was sitting in her backyard on Monday night, estimated about 250 people were at the block party, which was close to her home.
"[W]e were sitting in the backyard, and all of a sudden we heard about eight to 10 shots. We came running through the back door, out through the front door, and there's people running everywhere screaming."
According to police two men began firing at each other.
When the bullets stopped flying two people were dead — a 14-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man. Twenty-one others, including a 22-month-old toddler had been wounded in the shooting.
Dupuis told CBC News about the panic and fear that gripped the street. "People holding their kids, picking up their kids off the ground. People running everywhere...and then I come around the corner and there's lights. Wall to wall lights. I've never seen this many ambulances ever."
In the light of day the man who is responsible for TCHC came to see for himself.
Gene Jones, who has only recently taken up the post as president and CEO of the housing organization, left no doubt about how he intends to deal with anyone caught with weapons in his housing units.
"We have a gun policy that means no guns at all," Jones told reporters.
He said anyone on TCHC property with a gun will be arrested and he will evict whoever they were visiting."
Jones said the party was supposed to end at 9 p.m., but continued without TCHC permission.
"It didn't stop. It wasn't sanctioned by TCHC."
He said he doesn't have any magic solution but finding jobs for disenfranchised youth could go a long way to keeping them out of gangs.
"Kids have guns that shouldn't have guns," he said. "We just gotta get those guns off the street — plain and simple."
For Shelley Dupuis, the shootout was just too close to home.
"It scares the hell out of me. It was about 10 houses down from where we live and my child could have been out there. My child could have been the one that got shot."
