St. Clair shooting recap: Why police didn't issue an emergency alert; Josh Matlow calls for review of festival location

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said investigators will be 'relentless' in pursuing suspects.

The second day of the Salsa on St. Clair festival was cancelled as police investigate the shooting scene that left two men dead and four others seriously hurt Saturday night. This file is no longer updating. Salsa on St. Clair cancelled Sunday following fatal shooting Salsa on St. Clair is cancelled for Sunday.

Councillor Josh Matlow said Sunday morning that the festival will not continue its second day as police investigate the shooting scene that left two men dead and four others seriously hurt. The festival is a two-day long event and would have ran from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. The police are continuing their investigation at the scene.

The Salsa on St. Clair festival has been canceled and will not be proceeding today. https://t.co/bpini4TOPt — Josh Matlow (@JoshMatlow) July 12, 2026 Festival organizers wrote that they are “shocked by the shootings” and that their thoughts are with everyone affected by this “senseless violence.”

“Due to the complex police investigation at the scene, we understand that the festival will not resume today,” the statement said. On Saturday, a burst of gunfire near the festival killed two men and critically wounded four others. Thousands more festivalgoers were sent fleeing throughout the streets.

Officers were called to the shooting shortly after 8:10 p.m. near St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue, just west of the festival grounds. Speaking to reporters at the scene on Saturday night, Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said police were investigating three separate crime scenes where two guns were found as part of a “very fluid and active” investigation. Police told the Star that no one has been arrested as of 7 a.m. on Sunday and also could not confirm a video circulating online that appeared to show an arrest being made in the incident.

With files from Mahdis Habibinia 2 dead, 4 injured in shooting near Salsa on St. Clair festival in Toronto A burst of gunfire near the Salsa on St. Clair street festival Saturday night killed two men, seriously wounded four others and sent thousands of festivalgoers fleeing in panic through the streets in Toronto’s west end. Toronto police were called to reports of a shooting near St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue, just west of the festival grounds, shortly after 8:10 p.m. A total of six people were found with gunshot wounds, including two men who died — one at the scene, the other in hospital — according to Toronto police.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said police were investigating three separate crime scenes where two guns were found as part of a “very fluid and active” investigation. He did not confirm if a suspect was among the dead. Police told the Star that no one has been arrested as of 7 a.m. on Sunday and also could not confirm a video circulating online that appeared to show an arrest being made in the incident.

“The brazen, despicable quality of this exchange here, the amount of danger to the members of the public ... is just so unacceptable,” Barredo said. Police initially published an active shooter alert, but later rescinded it and determined the shooting was an exchange of gunfire between two groups. A suspect remained outstanding more than an hour after the shooting, according to sources who had been debriefed by police but were not authorized to speak publicly.

The shooting erupted beside one of Toronto’s largest summer festivals and the largest Latin street festival in Canada, triggering scenes of chaos as crowds scattered through surrounding neighbourhood streets. An estimated 13,000 attendees were at the festival when the gunfire broke out. Mark Reed, who lives near the festival route, described the “mass chaos” and said he watched thousands of people sprint past his home.

“Basically, a thousand people ran down our street,” Reed said. “There was a bunch of people screaming, just running down the road basically trampling people, people falling all over the place.” Reed said police quickly arrived and attempted to push bystanders away from victims lying on the ground, including one person who had been shot.

“As they were doing that, about five minutes later, there was another shooting on the other side of Arlington,” he said. “And there was another stampede.” Doorbell camera footage shared with the Star by residents who live close to the festival shows attendees running while shouting out to one another.

A woman named Dana, whose apartment faces an alleyway that was taped off as a crime scene, said she urged people inside once she noticed festivalgoers sprinting into her stairway, terrified. “I was hearing sirens and shouting and I was like ‘Wait that’s not on my T.V., that’s outside,’” she said. “Then half an hour later, I heard shouting again in the alley.”

Keira, who lives nearby, said she looked out her window to see “a big crowd of people” run past her home. “I just saw a bunch of feet, like pink shoes, in between the houses and I thought ‘Oh, there must be a lot of people in the event that they’re being pushed into the nearby houses,’” she said. “I would have never thought it was a shooting.”

Neither resident wanted their last name used for safety reasons. Toronto police urged the public to avoid the area as investigators secured a large section of St. Clair Avenue West. Dozens of officers blocked access to the festival between Wychwood Avenue and Christie Street while a helicopter circled overhead.

Mayor Olivia Chow and local Coun. Josh Matlow were at the scene Saturday evening and spoke with police. Coun.

Mike Colle, who lives nearby, was also at the scene. Chow said she was deeply disturbed and condemned the shooting as a “reckless, despicable act of violence at a crowded festival.” “I will ensure Toronto police have every resource they need to find those responsible, and they will keep working around the clock to get guns off our streets,” she said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “horrified” by the shooting and expressed his condolences to the families of those killed, those who are in critical condition and everyone who was affected. “Police have my full support as they work to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” he said in a post on X. Premier Doug Ford said he was “devastated by the senseless violence,” adding that his thoughts were with the victims, their families and everyone affected. “The person responsible must be caught, brought to justice and spend the rest of their life behind bars,” Ford wrote on X.

The shooting comes more than a year after organizers of Toronto’s outdoor events warned that they would struggle to afford the costs of increased security measures following the deadly April, 2025 vehicle attack at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival, which killed 11 people and injured more than two dozen. Salsa on St. Clair had been scheduled to continue Sunday, but as of Saturday night, organizers told the Star they were still determining whether the event would proceed. With files from Shaaranki Kulenthirarasa, Xavier Mesquita and Jennifer Pagliaro Morning after shooting brings eerie calm to St. Clair Avenue West Sunday morning brought an eerie calm to St. Clair Avenue West, where the crowds that packed the Salsa on St. Clair festival less than 12 hours earlier had vanished.

Stretches of the festival grounds stood nearly empty, with vacant vendor stalls, litter strewn across the streetcar tracks and boxes of charcoal left piled beside overflowing garbage bins. Police cruisers and yellow crime scene tape cut through sections of the festival route as officers redirected morning joggers, dog walkers and parents pushing strollers around the cordoned-off blocks. Anita Anand thanks first responders for quick action in Salsa on St. Clair shooting Anita Anand, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, took to social media to send her condolences to everyone who was affected by the shooting.

Anand said she used to live in the area as a student, describing it as a place of “community and family.” Devastated to learn of this horrific shooting. I used to live in the St. Clair and Arlington area when I was an articling student and it is a place of community and family.

My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the community. Deep thanks to the first responders for... https://t.co/hBSgHN6eOu — Anita Anand (@AnitaAnandMP) July 12, 2026 “Deep thanks to the first responders for their quick action and I hope those responsible for this devastating crime are quickly apprehended,” she said on X. Hillcrest Village BIA "saddened" by Saturday's shooting The Hillcrest Village Business Improvement Area, which helps host the festival, said it’s “saddened” by the shooting.

In a statement posted to Instagram late Saturday night, the BIA extended its condolences to the victims, their families and everyone who was impacted. “TD Salsa on St. Clair has long been a celebration of culture, community and connection,” it said. “It is devastating that an event dedicated to bringing people together has been overshadowed by this act of violence.”

Festival vendor says Salsa on St. Clair shooting doesn't reflect the Latin American community Adalberto Aguilar, the owner of Pancho’s Bakery, said he completely understands the decision to cancel the remainder of the festival. “Public safety must always come first,” Aguilar said in an email statement. “My thoughts are with the victims, their families and everyone affected by yesterday’s tragedy.”

The Mexican bakery has had a spot in the festival since 2012, he said, adding that he’s seen the positive impact of the event over the years. Aguilar said he hopes people understand that the shooting was an “isolated” incident and does not reflect the Latin American community or the festivities that were shuttered Saturday night. He added that incidents like these affect entire ecosystems of vendors, performers and families who depend on the success of the festival, while also putting employees and attendees at risk.

“I hope this serves as an opportunity for the City to continue strengthening security planning and safety protocols for large public events so that festivals remain safe places for everyone,” Aguilar said. Resident's door camera footage shows people fleeing the area after the shooting Door cam footage from resident Keira, who lives on Arlington Avenue and St Clair Avenue West. “I didn’t see the event happen, but I heard a bunch of screaming and running, like almost like a big crowd of people, running, past my home,” Keira said.

“I looked out my window and saw a bunch of feet, like pink shoes, in between the houses and thought, oh there must be a lot of people (at) the event that they’re being pushed into nearby houses,” she added. “I would have, never thought it was a shooting.” Police photograph shooting scene Sunday morning Police tape cordoned off the intersection of St Clair West and Arlington avenues as officers photographed the crime scene.

Dozens of yellow evidence markers were placed next to sandals that had been left in the middle of the street or red plastic cups laying on the streetcar tracks. Total of three people dead, 10 injured in weekend shootings It’s been a particularly violent weekend in Toronto with three people dead, and nearly 10 others injured in shootings that occurred on Friday and Saturday night, and early Sunday morning. The three deaths this weekend means the total number of gun deaths in 2026, at the halfway point of the year, will surpass last year’s total of 10, according to police statistics.

In Toronto, total shootings, where someone was injured, and firearms discharges, where there were no injuries, total 122 as of July 6, about half of what they were in 2024, when they totalled 250, the highest level in the last five years. The violence began on Friday night after 11 p.m., when three suspects, dressed in black and wearing masks, arrived in a stolen black Honda Civic and targeted three men in their 20s outside a townhouse complex near Lawrence Avenue West and Jane Street. One man was killed and two others injured.

There have been no arrests. On Saturday night, gunfire near the Salsa on St. Clair festival resulted in the death of two men and gunshots to four others. Frightened festival goers ran through back streets trying to escape the shooting.

Police are still investigating. Early on Sunday morning, five people were injured, one critically, during a shootout near Polson and Cherry Streets in the Port Lands shortly after 3 a.m. Police have arrested five people. Investigators will be 'relentless' in pursuing suspects: Demkiw The city’s top police officer Myron Demkiw said on social media that Saturday was a “tragic and violent night in Toronto.”

“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,” Demkiw wrote. Like many others over the past day, Demkiw said his thoughts are with the families and loved ones who lost their lives, and with everyone impacted by “senseless” violence. He added that investigators will be “relentless” in pursuing suspects.

“I want to thank our officers and our emergency services partners for their swift and professional response,” Demkiw said. CN Tower to be dimmed in honour of Salsa on St. Clair shooting victims As tributes pour in for those affected by the shooting at Salsa on St. Clair, the CN tower will be dimmed at the top of every hour in honour of the victims. Tonight the #CNTower will dim at the top of every hour in honour of the victims of the shooting at the Salsa on St. Clair event / Ce soir,

la #TourCN sera éteinte au début de chaque heure en hommage aux victimes de la fusillade survenue lors de l'événement « Salsa on St. Clair » pic.twitter.com/6jw7WVQdOe — CN Tower / Tour CN (@TourCNTower) July 12, 2026

Resident fears impact shooting will have on vendors, festival's future For Ken Ough, Saturday’s shooting cast a shadow over a neighbourhood tradition. The longtime St. Clair West resident has made a point of walking through Salsa on St. Clair every year, drawn by the music and crowds. On Sunday morning, he sat quietly on his walker just outside the police tape, worried about what the violence could mean for the festival’s future.

“This is really going to hurt the neighbourhood, the stores and businesses,” he said. “This festival isn’t just for the booths. It’s for the restaurants, the community, everyone.

They’re all going to be really affected.” Ough said Sundays are typically the festival’s busiest day, and he fears vendors and local businesses will lose the revenue they had counted on after investing time and money into the weekend. He acknowledged the event has long brought challenges for merchants — from rowdy festivalgoers to messy clean ups the next morning — but said nothing compares to the impact of Saturday night’s violence.

He fears the shooting will force the festival to take a hiatus or discourage businesses from participating in the future. “It’s going to be a mess no matter what,” he said. “This hurts everyone.”

Along the festival route, many storefronts had posted notices advising customers they would be closed for the weekend, offering takeout only, or closing their washrooms in anticipation of the crowds. Businesses nearest the intersection of St. Clair and Arlington avenues remained shuttered Sunday after owners said police had instructed them to close for the day. Farther from the crime scene, a handful of shops cautiously reopened by late morning, answering questions from customers about the previous night’s events.

Coun. Josh Matlow says city should re-evaluate festival location Echoing the sentiment of some area residents he spoke with, local Coun. Josh Matlow, who was at the festival earlier on Saturday, said in an interview Sunday that the city should re-evaluate whether Salsa on St. Clair has “outgrown its original mandate” at its current location, compared to more than two decades ago as a cultural celebration and food festival.

“The festival was created as a way to bring business back to St. Clair after the construction of the streetcar right-of-way,” Matlow told the Star. “I love the celebration of Latin culture in our city, but I believe the time has come to have an honest review of whether or not the festival has outgrown its original location.” He said some residents have suggested it be moved to a large park where attendance could be better screened and the site better secured.

Matlow argued that the city should also look at restricting the festival to daytime hours as another option. Police also responded to a shooting-related call at Salsa on St. Clair in 2024 This isn’t the first time police have responded to a shooting-related call at Salsa on St. Clair. In 2024, Toronto police said they disarmed a man who shot a single bullet after a confrontation in a lineup at the festival.

Investigators said that the then 37-year-old man and his girlfriend were waiting to use the bathroom when another man cut into the queue. An argument ensued, police said, before the accused pulled out a gun and hit him on the head with it. One bullet fired, authorities said.

Officers arrested him and said they recovered a loaded 9 mm pistol and 4.75 grams of fentanyl. The man was charged with seven offences, including attempted murder. Shooting did not meet the criteria for a provincial emergency alert, say police Toronto police say they did not request a provincial emergency alert during Saturday night’s shooting because officers quickly determined the incident did not meet the criteria for one despite initially describing it as an “active shooter,” a decision that left some people questioning why no notification was sent to nearby local residents.

On a Reddit thread that has amassed more than 2,400 upvotes, one user wrote that it would have been the “perfect time to use these emergency alerts.” Emergency alerts are created and sent by authorized emergency organizations, like the police, that are hyper-specific to a location and distributed widely to phones, radios and TVs. Toronto police said they would only request an emergency alert through Ontario’s Provincial Emergency Operations Centre if certain criteria are met, including confirmation of an ongoing incident that is neither isolated nor contained.

In last night’s case, Toronto police said while initial information suggested this was an active shooter event, officers at the scene quickly determined those criteria were not met. “As Deputy Barredo said last night, the incident was determined to be an exchange of gunfire,” police wrote in a statement to the Star. Police said officers secured the scene within an hour of the initial 8:12 p.m. call and recovered two firearms at the festival site, “reducing the immediate risk that would normally trigger a province-wide alert.”

“When reports of gunfire emerge at a crowded community festival with thousands of people in attendance, public safety requires us to act quickly and communicate what we believe to be the risk in that moment,” police wrote. Toronto police added that information develops rapidly during unfolding incidents, and messaging evolves as officers gather more information and the situation becomes clearer. Nearby resident hopes Toronto 'can continue to find ways to dance and to celebrate' For Anisha Phillips, who’s lived at Bathurst and St. Clair West for five years and spent several hours at the Salsa on St. Clair event, the images of the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s violence are hard to shake.

“It kind of sounds like faint fireworks, and we hear that, and all of a sudden everyone starts to run,” Phillips told the Star on Sunday, recalling the moments after the shooting erupted. Phillips said she witnessed an attendee getting CPR. “As somebody who lives here, I cannot not go and walk my dog this afternoon, right?

And so as I’m walking outside, of course it comes back to me. Not only watching and bearing witness to this person potentially losing their life, but also the fear on people’s faces.” Phillips added she hopes the people of Toronto “can continue to find ways to dance and to celebrate regardless of this tragedy.”

'It only takes one second for something to go terribly wrong' Heather Hannah says she had planned to learn samba with seniors on Sunday morning at the Salsa on St. Clair festival. Instead, the chair of the local Hillcrest Village BIA Board says she was fielding non-stop calls from business owners, merchants and residents — while reeling herself — from Saturday night’s gun violence. “I was hoping to have been dancing today,” Hannah told the Star.

“Now I’m running around and fielding all these calls. It only takes one second for something to go terribly wrong. And that’s what happened.”

Hannah agreed with Matlow for the most part on reviewing the festival’s location and operations, but questioned the logistics. She said “no doubt” the city and everybody involved will be examining what happened, but noted it’s “very hard” to police a street festival because it’s not enclosed. They are also free public events, so it’s difficult to control access and screen everybody as well, she added.

Amid rising security costs for festivals, Hannah questioned whether they should be free, “although people would argue they’re a service.” “The festival was fabulous for, I would say, the first 18 years,” she said. “It got very popular and very big for the area.

So we already had complaints from the neighbourhood, but after COVID is when the vibe changed.” “Let’s face it, it’s become more and more popular over time — both for the good and the bad,” Hannah said. Filipino BC says it is grieving with Toronto’s Latin community In British Columbia, community organization Filipino BC said it was grieving with Toronto’s Latin community and understands “how violence at a cultural celebration leaves wounds that reach far beyond those who were present” in an Instagram post Sunday.

On April 26, 2025, 11 people were killed and dozens were injured in a car-ramming attack at the Filipino Lapu Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver. “No community should have to experience violence while celebrating its culture,” Filipino BC wrote in its post. “Every family should be able to gather in safety, and every cultural festival should remain a place of joy, belonging and hope.”

'People were just having such a great time . . . and then suddenly shots ringing out' Toronto-St. Paul’s MPP Stephanie Smyth called the shooting at the festival “beyond disturbing,” saying it was “devastating to see such a senseless act of violence mar an event that celebrates the culture, spirit, and diversity of our community” in a social media post Saturday night. The Salsa on St. Clair festival took place in Smyth’s riding, with her constituency office located along the stretch of St. Clair West Avenue where the festival took place.

In an Instagram post Friday, Smyth said she hoped everyone was excited for the festival and that she would have a booth set up outside her office 803 St. Clair Avenue West alongside Toronto-St. Paul’s MP Leslie Church and local Coun. Josh Matlow. Yesterday’s shooting on St. Clair has left so many in our community shaken and heartbroken.

— Stephanie Smyth (@stephaniesmyth) July 12, 2026 Thank you to our first responders who acted so quickly in an incredibly difficult situation. If you or someone you know has been affected, please reach out to my constituency office at... pic.twitter.com/lx1o10ZZqz “People were just having such a great time, the vibes were amazing, dancing in the streets, the music, and then suddenly shots ringing out and they’re charging away absolutely petrified,” Smyth said, before thanking emergency crews for their rapid response.

After Toronto police issued an initial alert about an “active shooter,” Smyth reposted the warning, writing “We are monitoring this situation. Please avoid this area while police investigate. Stay safe.”