Pubdate: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2004, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/TorontoSun/home.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457 Author: Kim Bradley COPS FEAR SHOOTING WAR 2 Wounded, But They're Not Talking To Police Police patrols are being stepped up in south Etobicoke to prevent any retaliation attacks after a 22-year-old man was gunned down in a park Tuesday. Police suspect the 8 p.m. shooting and the beating of an 18-year-old man shortly afterward in the same Lake Shore Blvd. and Islington Ave. area were a result of a drug deal gone bad, but the victims are not cooperating, police said. "They're not being straightforward with us," said Det. Mike Duchak. "We're concerned that there may be some retaliation in the next 24 to 48 hours, so we're stepping up patrols." The 22-year-old victim has been moved out of intensive care and is recovering in stable condition after having one of the three bullets removed from his body late Tuesday. The other bullets will remain inside him because surgery to remove them would too risky. The man who was beaten with a collapsible scooter suffered a broken nose and a few stitches and is not in hospital. Duchak said while the victims aren't cooperating, neither are residents in the area. "People are afraid to volunteer information," he said. "I can understand that and certainly feel for people in the neighbourhood." Coun. Mike Grimes for Ward 6, Etobicoke -Lake Shore, said it's important for the community to help the police. Like some Ward 6 residents, Grimes was concerned about the loss of a sub-station in the area until he spoke to police brass who explained the move will actually bring in more police than they had before. By 2005 police will have 50 officers with professional standards working in the area plus another 250 attending a new million-dollar police college set to be built by then. Police are moving the 22 Division sub-station from the Islington-Evans Aves. area to the Bloor St. main station to make way for the professional standards offices. The criminals involved in this latest shooting were so brazen, they struck not far from where almost every 22 Division officer was out looking for a missing 11-year-old, Duchak said, noting the child was returned home safely. It doesn't matter where the sub-station is, it's not going to change the level of service the community is getting, he said. "The sub-station is still in operation right now and it didn't make a difference," Grimes said. "The men and women of the Toronto police are doing a great job." - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin