TORONTO - Police continued their hunt Monday for whoever shot three men dead in an SUV on the weekend, the latest in a rash of killings that seemed to contradict new statistics showing Toronto to be one of Canada's safest communities.

Yet even with six homicides in the span of a week -- and another case of a multiple killing caused by someone pumping bullets into a vehicle -- there's no reason to doubt the validity of the statistics released last week, said criminologist Ron Melchers.

"A number of events occurring together is a perfectly plausible phenomenon by simple random distribution," said Melchers, a professor with the University of Ottawa.

"There's no law that says if you have 365 crimes a year, they should occur once a day. They can all occur in one day."

The three friends in their 20s were found shot dead in a vehicle in the city's west end early Sunday following a 911 call in what Toronto homicide investigators said was a targeted killing.

Police said they were told a black SUV pulled up alongside the victims' gold-coloured Nissan Pathfinder on an off-ramp of the Queen Elizabeth Way on the southwestern edge of the city and opened fire multiple times with an as-yet unidentified weapon.

"A drive-by shooting anywhere on a street in Toronto would raise concerns for public safety," Det.-Sgt. Dean Burks said at a news conference.

"(But) we have nothing to suggest it was random."

The victims had all been at a downtown nightclub Saturday night, Burks said, but there was no indication of any altercation that preceded the shooting.

He said the slaying had the "hallmarks" of a gang-related attack, but he did not elaborate.

The driver of the vehicle, who contacted police later Sunday, was unhurt and was considered a victim, Burks said.

Also on the weekend, a 28-year-old man was gunned down inside an east-end club Saturday morning. Earlier last week, a 64-year-old man was stabbed to death and a 17-year-old boy was shot dead.

Police have yet to solve the murders of two young men shot dead as they sat in the front seat of their Range Rover in downtown Toronto in June.

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said in a statement the recent "rash" of shootings and stabbings has "raised concerns" about violent crime.

"Toronto is still relatively safe on most days, in most places," Tory said.

"However, we cannot and must not allow that to give us a false sense of security."

Experts say it's not surprising that dramatic crimes grab media and political attention.

Yet surveys show the vast majority of people feel safe in their own communities - even in big cities where sensational crimes make headlines and top newscasts.

One Statistics Canada survey found about 90 per cent of people in Toronto were either satisfied or very satisfied with their level of personal safety.

"The crime rate is not zero," Melchers said.

"(But) the public and the media and politicians are not looking at this in a systematic way."