Organizers of Salsa on St. Clair say the popular midsummer street festival will not return next year unless safety concerns raised by a fatal shooting are addressed.
The warning follows a July 11 shooting that broke out in the middle of the festival crowd, leaving two men dead. Thousands of people were attending the event at the time.
"Many don't want to return and we don't want to return, unless things change," Aldo Di Delice, group president of TLN, the organization behind the festival, said at a roundtable discussion on Monday, according to Global News.
Toronto police are working under the theory that the gunfire was an exchange between two people "targeting each other," Global News reported.
Councilor calls shooting a 'kick in the gut'
Coun. Mike Colle, whose ward includes the St. Clair corridor, said the situation felt like a "kick in the gut."
How do you rationalize two people that we know of, probably, walking to a festival with men, women and children, armed and then engage in shooting,
Rafael Gomez, a University of Toronto professor and director of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, said governments and police forces at all levels need to co-ordinate to protect people attending large public events.
"What are we doing? What is the city, what are different levels of government, what are individuals, what are actors doing in the city to make sure this doesn't happen again. And that other festivals across the city aren't affected," Gomez said, as reported by Global News.
Other festivals under scrutiny
The shooting has put security at Toronto's packed summer festival calendar under scrutiny, with organizers saying there needs to be more urgency in addressing safety as the season continues.
Organizers of Taste of the Danforth, one of the city's largest street festivals, told The Canadian Press they have been working with police and private security for months on a "comprehensive safety plan."
Tony Pethakas, chair of GreekTown on the Danforth, said the festival will proceed as planned, though any needed changes will be made in light of the shooting.
Supt. Shane Branton of the Toronto Police Service cautioned against pointing fingers or placing the burden of safety on any single group.
"I think it's important to attend so that we have all the right people at the table. Not all of them were here today, but when we get together on an issue like this, we can all work together," Branton said.
Investigation continues
Police have not released suspect descriptions or announced any arrests in connection with the shooting.
The force's homicide, guns and gangs units are leading the investigation.