Pubdate: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2000, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: 333 King St. E., Toronto, Ontario M5A 3X5 Canada Fax: (416) 947-3228 Website: http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoSun/ Forum: http://www.canoe.ca/Chat/newsgroups.html Author: Jonathan Jenkins FIREARM KILLINGS HIT DRUG TRADE Murderous Link Gun-toting drug dealers be advised -- you could soon become a statistic if you don't change your ways. The percentage of murders in Toronto involving firearms continues to track above the national average. And, police say, most of those go hand in hand with drugs. "These are predominantly the types of shootings we're dealing with," homicide Det. Tony Smith said. "Whether these are groups of individuals or gangs, firearms are a part of life for these groups. " Of the 58 homicides committed in Toronto so far this year, 25 were committed with guns, or 43%. Last year 38% of Toronto homicide victims died from gunfire. Typically, one-third of Canadian homicides are committed with firearms. Easy To Get Smith attributes the higher firearm homicide rate in Toronto to the city's size and the ease with which crooks can get their hands on guns. One need only look to the United States --where guns are plentiful and murders counted in the hundreds for cities Toronto's size -- to see the dangers of readily available weaponry, he said. "Obviously it's still a serious problem," Smith said of the spectre of guns on Toronto streets. "We'd have 23 live people today if it weren't for that." Most of those weapons would be illegal ones smuggled into the country, Smith said. "It's an ongoing problem especially for the specialized units that are dealing with getting them off the streets," the detective said. "They're illegal and there's only one reason to have one and that's to kill people." The city also saw 13 people stabbed to death, four strangled, and nine beaten to death. Suicidal Mom One tiny victim, Cuyler Killinger-Johnson, died after being hit by a subway train. His mother was holding him when she jumped in the train's path. Gun killings also tend to be harder to solve for homicide detectives - -- more than half of the 23 firearm homicides this year have seen no one arrested. A task force has been struck to look at six of those murders, all of which happened in north Etobicoke. Five of those killings have been linked to gang feuds. All but one of the stabbing homicides have seen charges laid. Charges have also been laid in four of the nine beating deaths this year. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake