Some families suggest crime has increased in area where Toronto mother was fatally shot

Steps from the spot where bullets flew in Leslieville — killing 44-year-old mother of two Caroline Huebner-Makurat — is the South Riverdale Community Health Centre.

Some families living nearby tell CTV News Toronto the safe injection site at the centre has been increasingly attracting unwanted criminal activity to the area.

“One of the suspects they are looking for is almost certainly someone I’ve been watching for almost a year now,” said Derek Finkle who has lived a few doors away from the health centre for the past 15 years and is a parent.

Finkle said he welcomed the site when it opened about six years ago. He said over the past six months the situation has reached a tipping point, with residents reaching out to politicians, and attending meetings with the health centre and police.

“[The shooting} was totally preventable,” he said. “If the safe injection site had followed their own rules that they are supposed to operate by, I don’t think the drug dealers would have been there, and I don’t think the guns would have been there, and the bullets wouldn’t have been flying there.”

Parent Ashley Kea also lives nearby and said drug paraphernalia on the streets is a problem. She recently took a picture near her home of small dishes used to cook drugs. CTV News walked down a nearby laneway and found a pipe, syringe caps and a needle.

In May, Kea’s young son found a bag of fentanyl on the way Morse Street Junior Public School. It’s 160 metres from the health centre. She said she shared her concerns at a health centre meeting three days before the shooting.

“It’s becoming really dangerous,” said Kea. “Unfortunately I ended the meeting with saying, do one of our children need to die?"

“We join others in being deeply troubled by this level of violence in our community. This terrible incident took place near our facility and has affected the whole community. To address those impacts and emerging needs, our team is committed to accelerating community safety activities, many of which were underway before this tragic event occurred,” a statement released by the health centre’s board reads.

Kea said she supports the work of the safe injection site but also wants it to take responsibility for areas around their facility and see more security. Finkle wants the space reclaimed with a stronger police presence.

[Safe injection sites] cannot come at the cost of the safety of hundreds of children,” he said. “They overdose in front children, dealers sell in front of children, and now they are pulling their guns in front of children.”

"I am actively working with the community to address their serious concerns,” said Councillor Paula Fletcher in a statement to CTV News Toronto.

“While not a city run facility I am in ongoing discussions with the South Riverdale Community Health Centre, the Superintendent of 55 Division, and other elected reps. I am also assisting the Huebner-Makurat family in any way I am able."

“Toronto continues to be in the midst of a drug poisoning emergency. Rates of non-fatal and fatal opioid poisoning are increasing,” said the City of Toronto in a statement. “The unregulated opioid supply is now dominated by fentanyl, which has replaced heroin/morphine as the most commonly present opioid in accidental overdose deaths in Toronto.”

CTV News Toronto asked the city about the proximity of the site to the elementary school.

The City of Toronto said it is not responsible for the oversight or operation of their programs. It said the federal government (Health Canada) is responsible for granting exemptions through Section 56.1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and that agencies must meet a number of requirements in advance of receiving an exemption.

“The provincial government (Ministry of Health) is responsible for approving and funding the operation of Consumption and Treatment Services, which includes the site operated by SRCHC,” the city said.