A leafy midtown Toronto neighbourhood is in shock after two men were killed and four people injured in an exchange of gunfire on Saturday at a busy Latin American street festival.
Shortly after 8 on a sweltering evening, thousands ran for cover in the wake of the shootings. Some took refuge inside restaurants, on the front porches of homeowners, or in the narrow gaps between houses.
Billed as Canada’s number one Latin cultural celebration, Salsa on St. Clair was in its 22nd year, with about 13,000 people jammed into a handful of city blocks at the time of the shootings.
Business owners along Toronto's St. Clair Avenue West and residents of the area expressed shock and grief after a popular street festival abruptly ended Saturday evening with gunfire that killed two people and left others injured. They say the Salsa on St. Clair festival will need to increase its security measures in the coming years.
The Canadian Press
One of the victims died on the street around St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue, while another man died in hospital. Four others suffered injuries, according to Toronto Police Service.
On Saturday evening, TPS initially told the public that an active shooter was at large. But at a news conference later on, Deputy Chief Frank Barredo clarified that that wasn’t the case.
While no arrests had yet been made as of early Sunday evening, two firearms were recovered from the scene, and police were looking for several suspects, Deputy Chief Barredo said. The investigation will be arduous, he added, owing to the large volume of witness statements to sift through, as well as copious video from revellers.
In a statement on Sunday, Chief Myron Demkiw said that TPS will be relentless in its pursuit of justice.
My statement regarding last night's events: pic.twitter.com/Lg3ELi9ODT
— Chief Myron Demkiw (@TPSMyronDemkiw) July 12, 2026
“The brazen violence we witnessed in the middle of a community festival where thousands were gathered to enjoy a summer evening with family and friends is heartbreaking and unacceptable,” he said.
The second day of the festival was cancelled on Sunday. Police cordoned off St. Clair Avenue from Christie Street to Winona Drive, forcing local businesses within the zone to close their doors.
On Saturday, Sally Jones was watching a World Cup match at Ferro Bar Cafe, on the corner of Arlington and St. Clair avenues, to escape the festival crowds. While there was chatter from servers and other customers about gunfire from outside, there was no immediate panic, she said.
That changed roughly 15 minutes later when people came rushing into the bar, saying more shots were fired, Ms. Jones said.
“Gunfire itself is so violent and unexpected. You don’t know where it is or where it’s coming from,” she said.
“The whole thing was terrifying.”
As she saw the “stampede” of people going down the street and coming into the bar, Ms. Jones hit the floor to take cover from any stray bullets.
Sally Jones, who sheltered inside a bar during the shooting that claimed the lives of two people at the annual Salsa on St. Clair festival, Toronto, July 12.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
She later moved to a back room for two hours, joining staff and customers who sought shelter until police said it was clear to leave.
“Salsa on St. Clair used to be pretty peaceable and fun. But then with different crowds coming, violence started creeping in. It makes you not really want to go out a lot,” she said.
The festival was conceived in part to reinvigorate businesses along St. Clair West, which were affected negatively by the installation more than a decade ago of a dedicated streetcar line. The festival has long had the support of The Hillcrest Village Business Improvement Area, which represents local business in the area.
On Sunday afternoon, taco and empanada kiosks on St. Clair West at the epicentre of the violence sat abandoned, some covered with tarps. Half-cut watermelon, vats of once-fresh salsa and freezers full of meat baked in the sun and were covered with flies.
Garbage was strewn across the street as crews began tearing down a nearby stage that was set to play host to Latin bands and salsa dancers Sunday night.
Josh Matlow, city councillor for Ward 12, Toronto-St. Paul’s, who attended Salsa on St. Clair during the daytime on Saturday, said that all options now need to be considered regarding the future of the festival, including perhaps holding it only during the day, moving it to another location, or maybe even permanently cancelling it.
“If the festival can contribute to a safe and successful community, then we’ll support it,” he said in an interview. “But if it’s having an adverse effect on our community, and if we are seeing repeated incidents where the festival is proving that it may have outgrown its original mandate, then we have to get real about that.”
People clean up garbage left on St. Clair Avenue on Sunday.EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
Saturday’s shooting wasn’t the first firearm incident at the festival. In July, 2024, Toronto police arrested a man at a restaurant near St. Clair Avenue and Rushton Road during the event after he hit someone on the head with a loaded nine-millimetre handgun and fired one bullet, according to a police news release. He faced seven charges, including attempted murder.
Aldo Di Felice, president of TLN Media Group Inc., which founded the festival, said he has raised concerns about a shrinking police presence at Salsa on St. Clair, and said the city has not done enough around security and public safety.
“Our growing concerns about the city’s increasing indifference to reduced police presence at the festival and the city’s declining support for other security measures, have not been acted upon by those with the responsibility and the authority to ensure a high level of public safety at public gatherings,” he said in an e-mail.
He also took issue with Deputy Chief Barredo, who in his news update a few hours after the shootings said that Toronto is “an extremely safe city,” but “not immune from some of the things that happen globally.”
“I was personally repulsed to hear public officials on the street last night insisting Toronto is an incredibly safe city and is also a city where these things are to be expected,” Mr. Di Felice said. “Gun-carrying criminals terrorizing festivalgoers is terrorism. Public officials are not taking this seriously enough as far as I am concerned.”
Nadine Ramadan, acting manager, media relations with TPS, defended the force’s work at the festival.
“As with any other major event and festival, officers were present at the Salsa on St. Clair festival. Both paid duty and on-duty officers were working at the event, and a command post was in place to support operations and co-ordination,” she said in an e-mail.
“With respect to Deputy Chief Barredo’s comments, Toronto continues to see a clear downward trend across a range of community safety indicators, including shootings and homicides, which are at their lowest levels in years.”
Braman Thillainathan, press secretary for Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, said in an e-mail that Ms. Chow takes public safety very seriously and has made record investments in making Toronto safer. He said that money has paid for hundreds of additional police officers, youth violence prevention programs and improved 911 service.
He also noted that the city has created a fund for street festival safety.