Lawrence Heights residents ‘fed up’ with the violence
Posted July 12, 2014 11:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Following the shocking triple shooting that killed a Toronto teacher and injured two others, the people of Lawrence Heights say they’ve had enough violence.
About 1,700 people paid their respects on Friday at a funeral for Abshir Hassan, 31, who was a substitute teacher with the Toronto District School Board. A 22-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman remain in hospital.
They were innocent victims, but it’s still unclear what motivated the shooters, police say.
At a memorial held on Saturday outside the building where the shooting took place, community members came together to find a solution to end the violence.
“The reason why the community came together today – they’re fed up of the violence occurring in the community,” Pastor Keaton, who helped host the memorial, told CityNews. “We burry too many young brothers and too many mothers are crying out, every day, for their sons who they lost by violence.”
As members of the community held hands and sang songs of hope, friends of the victim say they hope something can be done to make the community safe for all.
Crystal, a friend of Hassan, called for whoever is responsible for the shooting to turn themselves in.
“It’s supposed to be a safe place,” she said. “Just to know that you have little babies running around not safe, it’s very sad in any community.”
It’s a sentiment echoed among the messages of condolences written on boards at the memorial site.
Police say Hassan was attending a friend’s birthday party and had gone outside to move his vehicle when he was shot multiple times outside a low-rise apartment building at 11 Flemington Rd., near Lawrence Avenue West and the Allen Road.
There has been no word on suspects.
With files from Showwei Chu