'Visible' police presence established in Lawrence Heights in wake of mass shooting
· Toronto Sun
Toronto Police have followed through on a vow to establish a “brick-and-mortar presence” in Lawrence Heights after the community was rattled by a mass shooting last year that left a wheelchair-bound man dead and five other people injured.
Chief Myron Demkiw, Mayor Olivia Chow and Deputy Mayor Mike Colle, who represents the Eglinton-Lawrence ward on council , were on hand Wednesday to officially open the hub in the neighbourhood bordering Yorkdale Shopping Centre in the Lawrence Ave. W.-Dufferin St. area.
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“Today we’re delivering on a promise made to the Lawrence Heights community after they expressed the need for a hub like this in their neighbourhood,” Demkiw said in a news release. “We know that a visible police presence plays an important role in preventing and deterring violence and that being embedded in the community is essential to building trust at the local level.”
Hub serving as home base for NCOs
Police said the hub will serve as a home base for its Lawrence Heights neighbourhood community officers (NCOs), who will meet with community members and focus on crime prevention initiatives after a June 2025 mass shooting.
Yahya Ahmed-Mohamoud , a 31-year-old wheelchair-bound man, was fatally shot and five others were hospitalized during the night-time violence at Varna Dr. and Ranee Ave., which is about a block away from Yorkdale mall and a major transit station. The five surviving victims were between the ages of 17 and 30.
Police believed at the time that the shooting was targeted and were seeking three armed and masked suspects involved in the incident .
No one has been arrested and no other updates have been provided since police identified Ahmed-Mohamoud as the deceased victim three days after the shooting.
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3rd such facility opened by Toronto cops
The Lawrence Heights hub is the third such installation opened by Toronto Police with others already established at Fairview Mall in North York and the Shops at Don Mills.
Police said the space was provided by Toronto Community Housing and the hub will include prominent signage including a QR code with information on how to reach on-duty NCOs.
“By creating a dedicated space for neighbourhood community officers to connect with residents, we are strengthening trust, preventing crime and helping people feel safe where they live, work and raise their families,” Chow said.