A man in his 40s has been executed in Richmond Hill , York Regional Police reported.
Officers found the victim lying in the road with gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police described the shooting as targeted and isolated.
Two male suspects fled in a vehicle, and a related vehicle fire was reported nearby on King Road and Dufferin Street. No arrests have been made as of September 26.
Constable James Dickson confirmed the details at a press conference, urging witnesses to come forward with information, including dashcam footage.
The murder is part of a broader increase in gun violence in the GTA.
"Hug-a-thug, catch-and-release policies have destroyed our once-safe towns and cities," said Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre."Under the Liberals, violent crime has soared by 50%, which means more Canadians are now victims of violent assaults, robberies, and shootings."
Shootings rose sharply in Toronto (461 incidents, up 33.6% from 345 in 2023). In 2025, Toronto shootings were up 126 from the same period in 2024 (per police data portal). GTA-wide, 88% of seized crime guns traced to U.S. smuggling.
Canada’s firearms buyback program, launched in 2020 to remove over 1,500 prohibited assault-style firearms, has made significant progress but faces ongoing criticism for targeting legal owners while illegal gun trafficking persists.
The program closed for businesses on April 30, 2025, collecting over 12,000 firearms and disbursing $22 million in compensation, with a pilot for individual owners starting in Nova Scotia in September 2025 and a full rollout planned for later in the fall.
The federal government extended the amnesty period for affected owners to October 30, 2026, and has invested over $107 million since 2016 to combat smuggling, alongside $4.8 million for public education on gun laws.
Critics, including the National Police Federation, argue the program diverts resources from addressing illegal firearms, which drive urban violence (e.g., 88% of Toronto’s 2024 seized crime guns were U.S.-sourced), with a 2025 Leger poll showing 55% of Canadians prioritize anti-smuggling measures over buybacks. (Sources: CBC News, Public Safety Canada, Toronto Star.)