TORONTO, July 23 (UPI) -- Deadly gunfire in three Canadian cities during the weekend has led to renewed calls for federal handgun bans and stricter gun control.
The call was loudest in Toronto where an 11-year-old boy at an outdoor birthday party was killed in gang-related gunfire. Three other men were also killed in eight unrelated shootings in the city.
In Winnipeg, a gunman fired seven shots outside a nightclub, injuring three women and a man before fleeing, the Globe and Mail reported.
On Saturday, a 37-year-old man was shot several times in Halifax and left on the street.
In Toronto, Ontario's Liberal attorney general, Michael Bryant, said he would lobby Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ban handguns, tighten the country's embattled gun registry and enforce the provincial weapons program, the Toronto Star reported.
Family members of the slain boy made an emotional television appeal for witnesses to come forward, as police say they face a wall of silence after gang violence, the report said.
