MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- The number of shootings has nearly doubled in Peel Region, west of Toronto, in the first six months of 2026, when compared to the first half of 2025.
“Our shootings are up this year,” acknowledges Nick Milinovich, the region of 1.7 million people’s deputy police chief, who adds “the reason for that increase is absolutely connected to extortions, organized crime and the international drug trade.”
In the first six months of this year, there have been 103 shooting incidents in Mississauga and Brampton, Ont., involving a firearm being discharged.
By comparison, in the first six months of 2025 there were 58 shooting incidents in the two cities located in Peel Region.
“We have a team (of officers) exclusively assigned to remove firearms off of the streets and it’s not uncommon for them over the course of a weekend to recover three or four illegal firearms that have entered Canada from the United States,” says Milinovich.