Photo credit: Oakville News
The gaiety surrounding a popular salsa festival in Toronto was disrupted by fatal shooting, and attendees had to scamper for safety on Saturday.
CBC News reports that shortly after 8 p.m., gunfire erupted at the Salsa on St Clair festival, leaving two men dead and sending four others to the hospital with gunshot wounds, said the police.
Police say no arrests have been made, and they are still investigating how many people were involved, as well as if there are any outstanding suspects.
For Coun Josh Matlow, the Toronto city councillor for the Toronto-St Paul’s ward, it was “surreal” to watch the festival go from people dancing to being shut down hours later by dozens of police officers.
“What was this fun animated space just hours before was a crime scene right in the heart of our community,” he said on CBC Radio’s Fresh Air Sunday morning.
St Clair Avenue W was eerily quiet on Sunday, littered with garbage, bright yellow evidence markers and even a few abandoned slippers.
There were signs of a hasty retreat as food containers were left half-eaten and vendors’ tents were still up, partially covered in tarps.
The two-day salsa festival was cancelled on Sunday as police tape lined the streets to maintain road closures between Arlington Avenue and Winona Drive on St Clair Avenue W.
Salsa in Toronto, the group that organizes the event, said on social media that its thoughts were with the families of the victims and “everyone affected by this senseless violence.”
Toronto resident Lindsey Petrus said she was outside when “a sea of people” suddenly rushed into her cul-de-sac.
She said she “immediately clicked into first-aid mode” to help people who had been injured while running from the scene, including two teenage girls who had been trampled.
Neighbours brought water, offered people their cellphones to contact loved ones and tried to comfort those separated from family members, she said.
“There were people who were actually vomiting because they were so anxious and worked up,” Petrus said. “One irl was calling her mom just crying, saying, ‘Mommy, I want to go home.’ It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Butcher shop Macelleria Atlas on St Clair Avenue housed several residents moments after shots rang out, said owner Angela Mazza.
Her mother, Anna Maria, said the store has been part of the community for over 60 years and has participated in the festival since 2005. She teared up as she spoke of the impact Saturday’s event would have on people.
