Police chief holds Danzig Street town hall meeting

Toronto police chief Bill Blair held a community safety town hall meeting on Danzig Street in Scarborough where the city’s largest shooting occurred in the summer.

The unique town hall was held outside beside the basketball courts and began at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“It’s important that we listen to people’s concerns. I’m grateful that people came forward to talk about the things that are concerning them,” Blair told reporters after the town hall.

“It’s not an easy thing to do,” he added.

One resident said that people weren’t coming forward after the Danzig shooting because of fear, both of police and of retribution from those responsible for the shooting.

Blair said the event was an opportunity for the officers who patrolled the neighbourhood to get to know the people who lived there, and vice versa.

“There’s always work to do in building a trusting relationship between the police and a community,” Blair said.

“You have to work against fear and to restore people’s sense of safety.”

On July 16, two young people died and 23 others, including a toddler, were injured during the massive shooting at an outdoor community barbecue at 105 Danzig St. where more than 100 people had gathered.

Earlier this week, police said the shooting was the result of a turf war between the Galloway Boys and the Malvern Crew. One Galloway gang member used social media to claim the Danzig party as his own and offered free cognac.

Gang members started conducting so-called G-checks — confronting people to find out where they’re from. They asked people from Malvern to leave the party, who later returned with friends and a second confrontation ended in the shootout that killed innocent bystanders, Shyanne Charles, 14, of Scarborough, and Joshua Yasay, 23, of Ajaz.