Fear, grief and calls for security after deadly shooting at Toronto street festival

A Toronto street that should have been packed with vendors and dancing people was all but deserted on Sunday after a shooting the night before at the Salsa on St. Clair festival left two people dead and sent thousands running for cover.

The street festival on St. Clair Avenue West was scheduled to run through Sunday, but organizers called it off as police continued their investigation into the sudden gunfire that also sent four people to hospital with serious injuries.

Instead, only a handful of businesses were open along the street as police blocked access to all cars.

Bright festival signs hung amid empty vendor booths and only a few people were walking around.

Redon Hoxhaj was on his way to Pain Perdu, a café on St. Clair Avenue West he visits every Sunday. It was closed.

“I feel sad, most of all, a bit afraid,” Hoxhaj said in an interview.

He said he was worried about the victims, survivors and witnesses of the shooting, and about the near future of the businesses on the street.

“Yeah, they are going to suffer. Who knows when they’ll open,” he said, adding: “People that were here yesterday, they ran in fear. I don’t know how long it’s going to take for them to recover.”

The Canadian Press was first published on July 12, 2026.