4 shot, 3 stabbed during violent night in Toronto

One person is in critical condition after a triple shooting in Etobicoke — one of several incidents of violence overnight in Toronto.

Police say four people were shot and three others stabbed starting around 9 p.m. Friday.

The first shooting happened at a plaza at Rowntree Road and Kipling Avenue, north of Finch Avenue West.

Officers found three males shot, one with life-threatening injuries, as well as a BMW riddled with bullets.

More than an hour later, a man in his 50s was stabbed near Victoria Park and Lawrence avenues. Paramedics took him a trauma centre.

Police said they know who the suspect is, but they haven’t made an arrest.

Another person was injured in a stabbing near Wellesley and Sherbourne streets around 1 a.m. Saturday and taken to a trauma centre.

And a fifth person was stabbed near Jane Street and Firgrove Crescent, south of Finch Avenue West, shortly before 4 a.m.

Police have arrested suspects in both of those incidents.

Around the same time, a drive-by shooting happened near Lawrence and Dufferin Street. A man, who was also in a car, was shot in the arm and made his own way to hospital.

Police do not have any information about suspects in the shootings.

Toronto has seen a spike in gun violence this year that police Chief Mark Saunders said has been largely due to an increase in gang violence.

Earlier this week, Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair announced new funding to address youth crime in Toronto.

Blair also said the federal government had not ruled out further restrictions or even an outright ban on handguns to combat gun-related violence.

CORRECTION: Police previously said five people had been stabbed.

With files from The Canadian Press