Pregnant woman killed in drive-by shooting in Rexdale, baby born by C-section in stable condition
Mayor John Tory is calling for an end to "senseless" gun violence in Toronto after a woman who was five months pregnant was shot dead Sunday night and her baby delivered through an emergency caesarean section.
Candice Rochelle Bobb, 35, of Malton, was in the back seat of a car near John Garland Boulevard and Jamestown Crescent in suburban Rexdale when someone in a vehicle driving in the opposite direction started shooting, striking the pregnant woman, according to Homicide Det.-Sgt. Mike Carbone, who provided an update Monday morning.
"For some reason, only known to the offender at this point, that vehicle was certainly targeted," said Carbone about the vehicle that Bobb was sitting in.
The three other people with Bobb were not hurt and Bobb, was driven to Etobicoke General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead and the baby was delivered. After the delivery, the baby was transported to the trauma centre at Sunnybrook hospital.
The baby is now in stable condition, according to Carbone, who would not reveal any further details on the child, including sex.
Mayor John Tory expressed his sympathies to Bobb's friends and family at an unrelated press conference Monday afternoon.
"My heart goes out in particular to her baby," said Tory. "No baby should come into this world without a mother."
Toronto's mayor also called on anyone with information on the "tragic shooting" to come forward.
"This is our city and we need to stand together in the face of this kind of senseless violence," Tory said, adding that he's "frustrated" by the "increased levels of crime and shootings" in the city.
Supt. Ron Taverner says Toronto police are "trying to deploy as many resources as we possibly can" to prevent similar shootings.
"Obviously there are more guns on the street," said Taverner at the update Monday morning. "More people are carrying guns, which is creating the phenomenon that we have right now."
Taverner said he knows there are more guns out there based on the increase in shootings, and the number of guns officers have seized so far this year.
"We're all kind of in shock," said Taverner, referring to the death of the pregnant woman. "The whole community is outraged, the whole city is outraged that this can happen."
Carbone said the mother and her three friends were dropping off one of the friends on John Garland Boulevard after returning to the Rexdale area from a men's league basketball game in Toronto's east end when the shooting occurred.
Police do not yet have a description of the suspects or the vehicle the gunfire is thought to have come from, but are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.
On Monday afternoon, police sources told CBC News that investigators are looking into whether a rivalry between two gangs played a role in the shooting.
