Call comes following shooting in schoolyard

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Her maternal instinct told her something wasn't right.

A Parkdale mother who lives in the area of Parkdale Public School on Seaforth Avenue said she is accustomed to seeing unsavoury characters hanging out in the park near the school where her children play. But, on the evening of July 14 she said her gut told her things were out of sorts.

She took the children home and not long after, she said, she heard five shots ring out.

Sure enough, a man was shot in the leg.

The shooting occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. near 120 West Lodge Ave, according to Sgt. Leslie Hildred of Toronto Police Service's 14 Division. The victim was shot in the left leg and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

This mother, who spoke to The Villager on the condition of anonymity, said she and her family have been greatly affected by this incident and by what she sees happening to her community.

"A whole schoolyard of kids didn't even flinch," the mother said. "It's like people are oblivious to what is going on."

Not two weeks before the shooting, the Parkdale mother said she had put a call into 14 Division and requested more police presence in the schoolyard.

Police said they would do their best and send the bike patrol there, but in the two weeks that followed she said she didn't see any police in the area.

"No mother wants to have their child's life jeopardized," she said. "If I had to pay to have a police offer in that park to protect us I would work another job to do that."

When she spoke to police following the shooting she said they indicated to her that Parkdale is still a safe neighbourhood and crime is down.

"I just wonder where are they living and what they are seeing because that is not what the residents are seeing," she said.

She was born and raised in Parkdale.

"We have seen the best of Parkdale and the worst of Parkdale and we have chosen to stay here," she said. "I went to Parkdale Public School and grew up with some people who unfortunately chose the wrong path. But, 90 per cent of the people were good. Today I don't think we can say that."

She is unsettled by the teens, between 11 and 20 years old, who frequent the park and school area to hang out and do drugs.

"It doesn't matter who is there or what time of day it is, they are there and not behaving very well and smoking their drugs," she said.

She believes, although police could not confirm for her, that it was part of this group of teens that was involved with the shooting.

"Was it to do with drugs? Was it gang related? We don't know, we might never know, but the point is why can't we start to work on some of this stuff?"

She said she understands the police have major crimes to take care of, but to her the small stuff needs to be taken care of and that will lead to a decrease in major crimes like this shooting.

Police say the victim of the shooting is giving police little information about the incident.

The victim, according to Sgt. Hildred, is known to the police in 14 division, and is not being co-operative.

Police continue to investigate.