Gun violence on agenda at city hall

The recent rash of violent crimes in Toronto is on the agenda as city councillors meet this week, with one councillor pushing for an unorthodox measure to get firearms off the streets — an emergency gun amnesty offering food for firearms.

Ward  7 York-West Coun. Giorgio Mammolitti wants to appeal to the families of gang members to turn in guns that may be hidden in their homes.

"The mothers know where they are, the sisters, the brothers, and we need to encourage them to steal them off of their kids and bring them in," Mammoliti told CBC News.

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Mammoliti is hoping to find a grocery store that could partner with the city and offer $200 in food for every gun.

Mammoliti's suggestion follows a weekend where a 10-year-old boy was wounded in the shoulder by a stray bullet in the Pape Avenue and Danforth Avenue area, and a man in his 20's was shot to death in an apartment building on Weston Road. In all, there were three shootings and eight stabbings over the weekend.

In all, police say, gun-related homicides have risen by 200 per cent in the first four months of this year as compared to 2015. 

Toronto police held a gun amnesty in November and collected close to 100 firearms, but Mayor John Tory says police think it isn't always the best option.

"The guns that tend to get turned in are turned in by law-abiding citizens who had it in the basement from a relative who passed away or whatever. The bad guys don't tend to show up to get the grocery coupon and turn in their guns," Tory sais.

But Mammoliti says gun amnesties are still valuable, "because many of the guns we find that were used for murders where stolen from someone's basement."

While Tory isn't ruling out a gun amnesty, he thinks police raids on gangs, such as the one last week that resulted in more than 50 arrests, are more effective in getting illegal firearms off the streets.  

Council is expected to consider Mammoliti's plan on Wednesday.