The devastated family of a Toronto woman who was shot during her birthday party in Scarborough has condemned the violence that rocked the community, calling their wounded loved one “an inspiration to many people.”

The woman, who was not identified by the family, was struck by bullets while celebrating her birthday Sunday at a barbeque outside a home on Gennela Square.

More than 200 people were celebrating the occasion when gunshots rang out at around 1 a.m.

Two guests at the party, 33-year-old Rinaldo Cole and 30-year-old Dwayne Campbell, were both shot and killed.

The woman was rushed to hospital with critical wounds but her condition has since improved.

Standing outside the home where the shooting unfolded, representatives of the Lewis family, who do not want to be identified, told reporters that they “deplore the violence” that disrupted what was meant to be a joyous occasion.

“Our beloved and precious daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin and friend has been seriously injured on a festive occasion focused on celebrating her birthday. Our dear relative is vivacious, ambitious, compassionate, spunky, determined and a hard worker,” a family member read from a prepared statement.

“She is an inspiration to many people. She’s loved by many people from all walks of life. She’s gainfully employed and she’s planning to further. Her network of friends are as diverse as the city where she lives, Toronto.”

The family member said that since their loved one fell victim to the shooting, she has been “dehumanized” by police and the media.

Previously, investigators told reporters that all three victims were “known to police.”

That phrase, according to the family member, has become a “chorus” which has diminished their injured love one to an unfounded criminal history.

“On any reasonable assessment of her life, one cannot make the inference that she lives a criminal lifestyle, yet, recurrent in the media’s rendering of this senseless violence that has caused injury to her is a seeming chorus of ‘known to police,’” the family member said.

“The Lewis family deplores this loaded and morally presumptive chorus. Time and time again it has been noted for its ambiguity and inherent laziness. It does not inform the reader, but instead is a device used to demean, injure and dehumanize the victim. Simply put, it is nothing but naked innuendo.”

“It prods the audience to refrain from empathy for the victim but to adopt this stance of dismissing the victim as a criminal who got what was coming to him or her,” he added.

The family questioned why police would opt to use the phrase to describe their loved one, saying it does nothing for the “societal interest of fighting crime.”

“Ultimately, the continued use of this chorus diminishes us all as it seeks to deprive us of euphony and compassion that common humanity requires of all people,” he said.

“We believe in community. We stand for progress and upliftment (sic), particularly in respect to Afro-Canadians and people of Caribbean extraction – the groups to which we belong,” the man said before quoting African-American poet Amiri Baraka.

In the wake of the deadly shooting, investigators said they have amassed a “large amount” of video footage taken during the party that may offer them clues.

Despite this, they said few of the guests there that night have been forthcoming about what happened.

Sunday’s early morning violence continued that night just a short distance away.

According to police, gunfire erupted outside a home near McLevin Avenue and Empringham Drive at around 6:45 p.m.

A man believed to be in his 20s was found suffering from gunshot wounds and died at the scene.

Toronto Police spokesperson Mark Pugash told CTV News Toronto on Monday that the gunplay is “concerning.”

“There are what we call clusters, which is multiple homicides in a short period of time and we have between six and nine of those a year and by the end of the year, the numbers tend to be in a narrow range,” Pugash said.

“Now that doesn’t diminish the importance or the seriousness, and I can certainly understand that people in the community affected by this are very concerned and so are we and we will do whatever is necessary to detect these, but perspective is always important.”