Police Chief Mark Saunders is asking residents of a North York community housing complex where a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot last week to “work collaboratively” with police to rid the building of crime and bring an end to the violence.
Saunders made the comment during a community meeting on Tuesday night at the Falstaff Community Centre, which is located next door to the TCHC high-rise where Hanad Abdullahi was fatally shot in a stairwell in the early hours of Aug. 1.
That shooting, which remains unsolved, led into an extraordinarily violent weekend in the city. A total of 17 people were shot in 12 separate incidents that occurred over the last few days.
“I can tell you right now that in apartments here there are guns but I am not going to have my officers kicking in doors and pulling people out. That is not the right way to go about policing,” Saunders said. “I am pleading for your help. We have to work together.”
The meeting was actually organized weeks ago as a chance for residents to share their concerns with Coun. Frances Nunziata but it took on a much different tone in the wake of Abdullahi’s murder.
Dozens of residents showed up and many took the opportunity to share their concerns about conditions within the building.
“Let this be the last time a kid has to die before you all take this stuff seriously,” resident Jennifer Boahen said. “We are tired of watching our kids and our brothers die for nothing.”
Mother laments murder of ‘innocent child’
Abdullahi’s mother Hodan Ali and his aunt Deeqa Alibarre both spoke with CTV News Toronto following the community meeting.
Ali said that she actually heard the fatal gunshots shortly after her son left their apartment. She said that he was an innocent child who deserved better.
Alibarre, meanwhile, added that her nephew was a “good kid” with much to look forward to. She said that his life was ultimately cut short because of where he lived.
“He didn't deserve that. He was a good kid. He had so much life, so much ambition, so many things to look forward to and his life was cut short because he lives here,” she said.
Additional cameras to be installed
Prior to the meeting, the TCHC announced that it will be improving lighting in and around the complex and installing security cameras that will capture the licence plate of all vehicles entering and leaving the premises.
They also said that they will be hiring fulltime community security unit officers to work in the evenings seven days a week.
Saunders, however, conceded “that all the cameras in the world” won’t solve the problems plaguing the complex without a “collaborative effort” between police and residents.
“We have to develop that trust. We do have strong relationships with different members of the community and we have officers here on a regular basis that are engaged but we have to make that positive footprint larger,” he said.
