Cultural And Social Norm?

Five-year-old girl seriously injured by gunfire

Updated: Fri May. 22 2009 12:22:39 AM

A five-year-old girl has been shot in the city's northwest, and this has residents in her building voicing their fears."It's devastating, it's devastating to all of us, it hurts all of us. It could have been my daughter or my little sister or my niece or my nephew," Saron Ghebressallassie told CTV Toronto on Thursday.

Staff Sgt. Nicole Lee of Toronto Police Service's 12 Division told ctvtoronto.ca that she doesn't have many details about the shooting.The Thursday night incident reportedly occurred at 5 Bellevue Cres., which is near the intersection of Lawrence Avenue West and Weston Road.

A gunman approached a group of people on an apartment patio and opened fire, possibly using two handguns. The girl was inside her apartment when a bullet pierced the window and struck her. It isn't clear if she was in the apartment being fired upon or a different unit.The victim's family had first taken her to nearby Humber River Regional Hospital on Church Street. Doctors there stabilized her prior to transport downtown to the Hospital for Sick Children, Dan Hunter, a duty officer with Toronto EMS, told ctvtoronto.ca."I don't have a whole lot on it. We initially got reports she got shot in the back," he said, adding, "she's a serious patient but she is stabilized now."

CTV Toronto reports the bullet struck the victim in the chest, but other reports indicate the bullet exited her body through the back. She is reportedly in stable condition on Thursday evening.Lee said police do have a person of interest in custody.Police had chased a man for 30 minutes in the Humber River valley before capturing him.

In recent weeks, 12 Division has been the scene of a number of shooting homicides.Ghebressallassie said crime is a constant in the building's neighbourhood."I walk home here every night, and regularly there are police cruisers," she said. "It's become a cultural and social norm to walk past police cruisers."Others admitted to being scared and said the area had deteriorated over the years.Police spent the evening interviewing witnesses. There is a security camera outside the building that may have captured what happened.