TORONTO — Toronto police are launching an initiative to deal with an increase in violent felony exercise within the tow truck trade, saying they consider it’s linked to seven out of the ten shootings the town has seen to this point this yr.
Plainclothes and uniformed officers shall be deployed in vital areas round Toronto to research shootings, arsons and different felony acts they allege are perpetrated by “dangerous actors” within the trade, police mentioned Monday.
They added that organized crime investigators have linked such incidents to ongoing territorial disputes between towing firms.
“We stay dedicated to addressing tow truck-related crimes with a service-wide method, acknowledging that this violence stems from a small section of the trade,” mentioned Supt. Paul MacIntyre.
“We’ll proceed to work diligently to guard our communities and guarantee security throughout the town.”
Police mentioned there was a current improve in gun violence, with 63 firearm discharge and taking pictures incidents linked to tow truck-related disputes final yr, accounting for nearly 13 per cent of all shootings in Toronto.
A trio of shootings in Scarborough final week that police have linked to the trade counsel the battle continues to escalate.
Police mentioned a tow truck driver was dropped at hospital after being shot within the space of Markham Highway and Sheppard Avenue East final Wednesday at round 10:30 p.m.
They mentioned two extra victims attended hospital on their very own after studies of gunshots within the space of Markham Highway and Passmore Avenue after 5 p.m. the subsequent day.
And police mentioned that at 6 a.m. on Friday, a person in his 20s was taken to hospital with non-life threatening accidents after a 3rd taking pictures within the space of Lawrence Avenue East and Greencrest Circuit.
4 extra shootings for the reason that starting of 2025 are believed to be associated to the tow truck trade, police confirmed in an electronic mail.
“They’re ongoing investigations,” police mentioned. “No arrests have been made at the moment.”
Police created an identical job power final yr that operated from June till August. It resulted within the arrests of six individuals and 184 charges associated to a murder and 13 tow truck-related taking pictures incidents.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Jan. 13, 2025.
Notice to readers: The photograph with this story has been modified. An earlier story carried a photograph exhibiting a tow truck from an organization that was not talked about by the police as a part of this initiative.
Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press
