Toronto hosts informal gathering to mark five years since Danforth shooting – Toronto

TORONTO — Survivors of the Danforth shooting and their families are expected to be among those who gather today to mark five years since the deadly attack in Toronto’s Greektown.

Eighteen-year-old Reese Fallon and 10-year-old Julianna Kozis were killed, and 13 others injured, when a gunman went on a shooting rampage along a popular stretch of Danforth Avenue in 2018.

It stands as one of the worst mass shootings in the city’s history, leading to advocacy for stronger gun control measures and a public health approach to gun violence.

The city will host what it calls a short and informal gathering at Withrow Park around 5 p.m. today near two trees planted in 2019 in honour of Kozis and Fallon.

An advocacy group made up of survivors and people affected by the shooting has become instrumental in pushing for stronger gun control measures, including Bill C-21 currently before the Senate.

The bill would legislate, among other provisions, a national freeze on handgun sales, a crackdown on homemade and untraceable so-called “ghost guns” and a technical definition of assault-style firearms intended to establish a permanent ban on future models.