What to know
- Two people were killed, and five others were injured after a shooting broke out at the Salsa on St. Clair festival on Saturday evening, with Toronto Police continuing to search for suspects.
- Police said the two victims, 25-year-old Shaquan Quashie and 20-year-old Cesar Vernaza, knew each other, while Mayor Olivia Chow and Chief Myron Demkiw addressed the incident on Monday.
- Some residents told Now Toronto they still feel safe attending city events, describing the shooting as an isolated incident and noting Toronto remains safer than many other major cities.
- Others said the violence has shaken their sense of security, with some now feeling unsafe walking in the city at night or reconsidering attending upcoming street festivals.
Following a deadly shooting at Salsa on St. Clair over the weekend, some Toronto residents shared they didn’t feel like the brazen incident was cause for long-term concern.
According to the Toronto Police Service (TPS), shots broke out amongst the crowd around 8:15 p.m., where thousands of people were enjoying the free Latin street festival.
When officers arrived, seven people were found with gunshot wounds. Twenty-five-year-old Shaquan Quashie and 20-year-old Cesar Vernaza were pronounced dead, with five other attendees sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow spoke on the incident on Monday at 3 p.m, with Chief Myron Demkiw sharing that the two men who died had known each other. The shooting marks the city’s 19th and 20th homicides of 2026, according to TPS.
As of Monday afternoon, Toronto police are still searching for suspects.
Demkiw said that while shootings in the city are down over 26 per cent compared to the same time last year, incidents of random violence like Saturday’s can still leave residents unsettled.
“When a brazen shooting occurs in a public setting like this, it understandably shakes the sense of safety and security that Torontonians expect and deserve,” he said.
Toronto residents share their thoughts on future safety
Ahead of the conference, some Torontonians were already sharing their thoughts, with many telling Now Toronto they don’t believe the gun violence was cause for concern at other festivals.
Brian W., who now lives in Oakville and commutes into Toronto for work, said that the city used to be safer many decades ago.
“I lived in Toronto during the 70s and 80s when it was known as ‘Toronto the Good,’” he explained. “It no longer is, and so unfortunately, things have changed.”
Brian added that the recent gun violence wasn’t shocking to him.
“…You do hear quite frequently about incidents like this,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s an isolated incident, not a sign of worse things to come, but it frankly doesn’t surprise me.”
Despite this, Brian says he still feels safe in the city overall.
“Looking at just percentages, I would probably feel safe.”
Ryan R. agreed with Brian, saying even if there was an increase in violence, it wasn’t too extreme.
“I think Toronto overall is not a dangerous place, [despite] that kind of stuff,” he said. “I mean, there’s been a bit of an uptick, but I just got back from a much more violent environment… I got back from Central Mississippi, and it’s much rougher down there.”
Ryan added that he’s lived in Toronto since 2003 and hadn’t heard of an overwhelming amount of mass shootings in the city compared to some cities in the United States.
“The amount of shootings isn’t so astronomical to me that I’m concerned for my own safety personally.”
On the other hand, Irene L. said she moved to the city seven years ago, and used to think the city was safe, but now she said she feels afraid, and often looks over her shoulder when walking through Toronto.
“Back then, I never had to worry about those things… it didn’t even cross my mind [that] it could happen around me, but nowadays, [it could happen] even across the street,” Irene explained. “You can’t imagine that could happen… I don’t really feel safe… especially at night, because sometimes I finish work very late at night. I don’t really [feel] safe to walk around.”
Alex G. agreed with Irene, adding that free street festivals could feel unsafe following Saturday’s shooting.
“It makes you think twice about going now,” he said.
And despite believing that an incident like Saturday means future festivals and city events will see an increase in police, Alex still said he’d err on the side of caution.
“Maybe see how this next one goes, and then possibly down in the summer later, but I think I’ll skip this [next] one,” Alex said. “…It’s definitely scary.”
