Boy, 14, among 2 people randomly shot in separate incidents in Etobicoke over the weekend: police

Toronto police say a 14-year-old boy was one of two people shot at random in separate shootings in north Etobicoke over the weekend.

Toronto police Supt. Ron Taverner, the district commander for both 22 and 23 divisions, said Monday that the first shooting occurred at around 10 p.m. on Saturday near Martin Grove and Albion roads.

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Taverner said the victim, a 20-year-old man, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to hospital for treatment.

“We believe he was a totally innocent victim,” Taverner told reporters at a news conference at the scene of a separate shooting in Rexdale on Monday.

He said there is currently no suspect information that investigators can share in that case.

The second shooting, Taverner said, occurred just hours later near Martin Grove Road and Richgrove Drive, about eight kilometres south of the first shooting.

According to Taverner, a 14-year-old boy was walking out of an apartment building at around 2:40 a.m. when he was randomly shot.

His injuries, the superintendent said, are believed to be serious but not life-threatening.

“It speaks to how unbelievable these situations are, that a young person walking out from an apartment building is shot randomly. A 20-year-old is shot randomly,” Taverner said.

“It is very, very concerning to obviously us and the community.”

The random shootings came less 24 hours before a shooting outside a Rexdale high school left one man dead and four others wounded.

The five men were shot while enjoying some fresh air outside North Albion Collegiate Institute shortly before 11 p.m. on Sunday, police said.

Police were not able to confirm whether the victims in that shooting were targeted or shot at random.

Police are setting up a command post in the area of the homicide and say there will be an increased police presence in the neighbourhood in the wake of the violence over the weekend.

“We are asking people to come and speak to the officers that will be assigned to the community station,” Taverner said. “We need information to help us.”