Number of shootings in London this year surpasses 2022 total
London police disclosed five previously unreported cases of gunfire this year after announcing the results into Project Safe.
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Seven months into the year, London has recorded more shootings than all of last year, with police acknowledging several cases they hadn’t revealed before.
London police disclosed five previously unreported cases of gunfire this year after announcing the results of Project Safe, a three-month investigation into firearms and weapons smuggling that led to charges against 70 people and the seizure of 26 guns and $8.5 million of drugs.
Those additional cases of gunfire bring this year’s total to 20 incidents, compared to 19 in 2022.
“Throughout the course of Project Safe, information was gathered – sometimes after the fact – that shots had been fired by suspect individuals. As we pursued that information, it was critical that we balance the immediate need to share details with the public, with the need to ensure that investigations were not compromised,” Det-Insp. Chris Churney said in an email Monday.
Investigators looked at each case to determine a suitable time for making the information public, he said.
“Many occurrences resulted in this information being shared with the public very quickly through the media and our social media channels. In other cases, it was determined that further investigation was required before sharing those details,” Churney said.
Nobody was injured in the five previously undisclosed cases of gunfire that happened between Feb. 6 and May 22.
London police and some of their partners from Project Safe – the OPP, Sudbury police, Canada Border Services Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – held a news conference last Thursday to announce the results from the investigation and showcase the 24 handguns and two long guns seized.
Many of the undercover officers who worked on the project attended the event at police headquarters, where Mayor Josh Morgan and police board chair Ali Chahbar also were present.
The mayor’s office often hears from citizens concerned about gun violence, Morgan said.
“People see a shooting on our streets and they say, ‘What are the police doing about it?’” Morgan said following the news conference.
“Often that work happens behind the scene, 24/7, undercover. So, on days like today, it’s important for me, as mayor, to be here to show the public that this work is happening, that it’s supported.”
Investigators have laid charges in 14 of this year’s 20 gunfire cases that resulted in 10 injuries and one death.
In a breakdown of the gunfire cases, police also confirmed for the first time that homicide victim Levi Brown, 36, was fatally shot.
The Free Press previously reported on court documents that said Brown was shot on March 19, six days before his body was found in a drainage ditch on Base Line Road.
In the city’s most recent, and perhaps most shocking, case of gunfire, a 53-year-old man was critically injured after a man shot him in the head inside a Pond Mills home on July 21. The gunman later broke into a nearby home before a London police officer fatally shot him in the garage. Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, is investigating the death of the man, identified by The Free Press as Cesar Hernandez, 35.
Statistics Canada released a report last week showing London’s crime rate hit its lowest level in more than two decades. There were 6,303 Criminal Code violations, including traffic offences, per 100,000 people last year, down from 6,695 offences per 100,000 people in 2021.
Previously undisclosed cases of gunfire
Feb. 6: Gun fired during robbery at William Street home. Charges laid
Feb. 16: Gunfire in 200-block of Castlegrove Boulevard. Charges laid
April 2: Gunfire at Richmond and Oxford streets. Under investigation
April 2/3: Gunfire in 200-block of Marconi Boulevard. Under investigation
May 22: Gunfire in 100-block of Pine Valley Boulevard. Charges laid
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