Political leaders met in Toronto Monday afternoon to discuss ways in which each level of government could support the city’s efforts in “cracking down on gun violence” after a mass shooting in Toronto’s Greektown left two dead and 13 injured.

Toronto Mayor John Tory addressed city council Monday morning after stopping at the scene of the shooting, calling the incident a “tragedy”.

“Our entire city has been shocked by this cowardly act of violence. As I said earlier this morning at the scene, I’m of course angry that someone would carry out such an attack, which really amounts to an attack on our city itself,” he said. “This is an attack on innocent families and against our entire city.”

Tory met with Premier Doug Ford, federal Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair, and Police Chief Mark Saunders Monday afternoon to discuss ways in which each level of government can support the city’s efforts to end the wave of gun violence plaguing Toronto.

In an interview with CP24, Ford said there was a lot of consensus between the three levels of government.

“We’re standing shoulder to shoulder. We’re working together – all three levels of government,” Ford said.

Ford also said the leaders spoke about a wide range of issues, including illegal guns and mental health.

“We all agreed we support our Toronto police one thousand per cent. We have all the confidence in the world in Chief Saunders getting down to the bottom of it.”

Ford also said he still believes Toronto is one of the safest cities in the world.

“It’s an absolute tragedy. As I always claim everywhere I go in the world, we live in one of the safest large cities in the world.”

While speaking with CTV News Toronto afterward, Ford also indicated that he would support harsher sentencing for people who commit violent gun acts.

“I think we need to toughen up the sentences and we can’t let these people out in a few years on parole and let it happen again, or if someone gets arrested on a Friday night and they get bail and they are back out on Wednesday for retribution, that is unacceptable,” he said. “The laws need to be changed.”

Speaking at Queen’s Park prior to the joint meeting, Ford said the “entire province” is behind the city.

“I want the people of Toronto to know that our entire province is behind you. What happened last night is tragic and it should be a cause for anger. It reminds us that the status quo is not good enough. We must do everything we can to bring criminals to justice while preventing other potential shootings,” Ford said.

“We will make sure that police have the tools and resources to do their jobs and we will work with our municipal and federal counterparts to identify, apprehend, and convict those who commit or plan to commit violence.”

Peter Tabuns, the NDP MPP for Toronto-Danforth, said the community is resilient and will recover together.

“We are a unified, loving community and we will find answers together,” he said. “We will offer each other strength and understanding together and we will heal together.”

In a written statement, Blair called the shooting was a “tragic reminder that this city is experiencing the devastating effects of gun violence far too frequently.”

“That is why this meeting today was so critical. The federal government is here at the table, with our municipal and provincial partners, to discuss how we can all support efforts to end the violence. We stand united in our resolve to keep our streets safe.”

Tory thanked the political leaders for meeting at city hall to discuss public safety and offer their support to the residents of Toronto.

“In times of such horror, it is good to know that Toronto is not alone and Toronto will never be alone and most important of all, that the people of Toronto will never be alone. This city will always be resilient in the face of such attacks. It does not mean such a terrible act committed against our residents is any less painful,” Tory said.

Many other politicians and leaders turned to social media to express their condolences and support for the people impacted by the shooting.