The recent shootings happened far too close to home for GTA police officers
Police officers are always concerned about bullets and gunfire every shift when they go out into the field.
But they don’t expect it to happen at the station. However, sometimes bullets fly past their workplace.
In two shootings, officers were both shocked and reminded of how dangerous gunfire can be. One occurred outside the Toronto Police 33 Division. The other at the Ontario Police College in Aylmer.
No one was injured or killed in any of the incidents. But boy, was it close, starting with an incident at the Ontario Police College in Aylmer on October 13th. Sources described the incident as an accidental discharge that allegedly occurred during a training session and nearly struck a Durham Region Police officer.
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“A Durham Regional Police sergeant was almost shot with live ammunition,” a source claimed. “It happened in front of a class of recruits when a civilian instructor fired a live bullet at a ‘bad guy’ played by the sergeant. The bullet narrowly missed the sergeant’s head.”
So much for the gun safety seminar that day. It was almost a similar incident to the one allegedly involving Alec Baldwin in 2021 on the set of the film rust. Durham and Aylmer Police have not yet commented. However, the Ministry of the Attorney General acknowledged that the incident took place and that it was being investigated.
“The ministry can confirm that a firearm was accidentally discharged at the Ontario Police College on October 13,” said ministry spokesman Brent Ross. “There were no injuries as a result of the accident and the OPCA is reviewing its internal procedures to prevent future incidents. As the matter is the subject of a police investigation, it would be inappropriate to provide further details.”
But this is as close as Ontario came to another police funeral. And this happened during training.
The other shooting was also alarming. It happened on October 1 outside the North York 33rd Division at 50 Upjohn Rd.
The “shooting occurred right outside the 33rd Division station,” a source said. “Three shots were fired but no one was injured.”
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Toronto police are investigating. So far it is known that armed men allegedly stopped and/or intimidated a person who was at the station to speak to the police.
“These boys knew they were standing in front of a police station when they fired the shots. They had been chasing a victim who had come to 33 to report the incident,” a source said. “It’s very audacious that these guys fired three shots in front of a police station.”
The balls can ricochet and no one knows where they can land. Sometimes they can hit too close to home.
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