“The intelligence we are gathering is revealing some concerning trends,” said Staff Superintendent Joe Matthews at a press conference on Thursday. “Over the past six months, Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area have seen increased criminal activity surrounding a small segment if the tow truck industry.”
He noted that, in Toronto, tow trucks have been linked to 24 gunfire incidents so far in 2024. This includes shootings, the discharging of guns and evidence of gunfire.“Incidents have primarily occurred in the city’s east end, with a few scattered across other areas of the city,” said Matthews. “In April and May alone, there have been nine tow truck arsons, with seven of these occurring in the east end of Toronto.
“Towing conflicts in the GTA have historically been about territorial disputes and rivalries,” he added. “However it’s important to reiterate that this issue involves a very, very small segment of the towing industry.” “This is a small segment of that industry who are out there to do what the public needs them to do in times of accidents. It is largely an internal issue right now. It’s not the public that is being targeted. But any time these acts of violence occur in public there is potential for innocent people to get hurt and hit.”“Shooting events have increased by nearly 74 per cent compared to last year,” said Deputy Chief Robert Johnson.
The number of fatal shootings is on par; there have been 24 deaths in 2024, compared to 24 in 2022, 17 in 2021 and 21 in 2020.If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing