Toronto police arrest 10 in interconnected shooting incidents; almost 90 per cent of crime guns seized US-sourced

Toronto police made a headway in the recent cases of multiple shootings in the city arresting 10 people. Among those arrested are suspects who were allegedly involved in a pub shooting incident in which a dozen people were injured. Three of those arrested have been charged with attempted murder.

The three suspects are male youths, including two 17-year-olds and one 15-year-old; the others are between the ages of 19 and 22. The indiscriminate spate of shootings at several places in Toronto seem to be interconnected, according to the police.

The alleged incidents include one that occurred in March 2025 at the Piper Arms pub in Scarborough. A trio of masked men armed with an assault rifle and handguns fired several bullets leaving a dozen people injured. The shooting incident was caught on video.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday (June 4), the Toronto police said that all the incidents of shooting involved hired gunmen in stolen cars, The Globe And Mail reported.

They also fired at people in tow truck yards, a gas station and a commercial plaza, Toronto police said. Police alleged that some of the incidents are linked to tow-truck turf wars, though they have not linked the Piper Arms shooting to that industry.

While addressing reporters at police headquarters, Chief Myron Demkiw said that they released the video on Wednesday of that March shooting to show the extent to which the city is facing the gun problem. He stated that gun crime “needs to stop,” calling on the federal government to step in to help curb the violence.

“I have been in contact with the federal Minister of Public Safety, and I look forward to further discussions with him concerning public safety in Toronto,” Chief Demkiw said, according to The Globe And Mail.

203 charges laid including attempted murder, say investigators

Investigators of crime have revealed that they have laid 203 charges, including 24 counts of attempted murder while recovering four firearms in link with a spate of shooting incidents in the 2025 spring season.

Police said that the 10 suspects arrested are all tied to interconnected shootings. However, no explanation has been given by the police pertaining to how these suspects are related.

Police Superintendent Paul MacIntyre of the city’s organized crime enforcement unit claimed that the alleged perpetrators behind the shooting incidents are “a bunch of guys that are not a gang,”. He dubbed them hired gunmen. “They’re just friends, if you will. They’re associates,“ he said.

Chief Demkiw on Wednesday (June 4) also answered questions about an unrelated shooting in Lawrence Heights this week, where a 31-year-old man in a wheelchair lost his life, while five others were also left injured in what police said was a targeted attack. The suspects in this incident remain at large.

What do Toronto’s crime statistics say

Crime statistics from Toronto police revealed that 2024 was a near-record year for incidents of shooting in the city. According to The Globe And Mail, police stated that 80 to 90 per cent of the crime guns seized in Toronto are now U.S.-sourced, up from roughly 50 per cent a decade ago.