The Danzig Street Shootout - minute by minute on Twitter

I was made aware of the Danzig Street shooting by a YAHOO News headline, as I accessed my email. Toronto news is of no particular interest to a Vancouverite so the shooting didn't really catch my attention until I gave the CTV News Channel ten minutes of my time, over the lunch hour Tuesday.  The TV reporting was of the typical "I'm standing on the sidewalk where it all happened," variety.  Ten minutes Googling the story gave me a far clearer picture, and resulted in my posting last night's Blog article.  Scroll down for more on "The City, By Homicide" and NATIONAL POST graphic artists.

When I Googled the names of the four people listed as creators the NATIONAL POST  graphic, this is what I found.

Ian Vandaelle describes himself as "Morally, socially & financially bankrupt."  Does that make him dangerous? or just cute?

Samina Esha is a "shopaholic and bookie".   It's starting to look like the POST team has "street cred".

Jonathon Rivait is the punster in the pack. "My rock is cock hard."

Richard Johnson is all about "Sarcasm, cynicism, skepticism - in monster proportions."

What an interesting posse of crime reporters!  To be accurate, it is Jonathan Rivait and Richard Johnson who must take the lion's share of credit for the wonderful graphics the NATIONAL POST publishes on a fairly regular basis. Others contribute only research.

TWITTER REPORTING - the Danzig Street Shootout

The really significant thing about this shooting in Toronto is not the bombast and baloney spouted by the Mayor and Chief of Police. Rather it was the level of involvement by citizens participating in the mass crime, or reporting on it via their Twitter Accounts. An article written by Joshua Errett, editor at NOW Magazine in Toronto, is a good place to start.

Joshua's article is HERE.

Even now, two days after the shooting, you can get a far better sense of what went done on Danzig Street, by reading Twitter archives, than you can by reading commercial news accounts.  There is a lesson in this.  Should you ever be caught up in a big event... a natural disaster, a major crime, etc... task someone with downloading the Twitter chatter before it gets edited or truncated by deletions. It will later be a valuable resource for reconstructing chain of events.

DANZIG STREET TWEETS - The shooters "touched the wrong people".  .."there is gonna be a war".   On that point at least, the Street and the Mayor's Office agree.

Shootout on Danzig Street, Toronto - incredible grahics

Trying to keep up with Canada... one crime at a time. You just can't make this stuff up. I dare you.

Dateline, Toronto:  A multiple shooting amid the shrubs of a Welfare housing project on Danzig Street in Scarborough.  Hours later the Chief of Police holds a press conference, and delivers one of the most deliciously asinine remarks ever made by a Chief Constable in this country.  

"I’ve been a cop for 35 years and this is the worst incident of gun violence, in my memory, anywhere in North America."  (Bill Blair, Toronto Chief of Police)  Gee Billy... worse shootings take place on this continent every single day of the week. Take your medication. Calm down.  Your scaring your troops.

Late in the day, after perhaps gobbling a box of his favourite comfort food - a large pizza, Mayor Rob Ford issued a press release. It begins "Toronto is a safe city. It’s one of the safest cities in the world."  He drones on with the same old lines of B.S. worthy of any Toronto potentate, and then mid-way down the page this.  "Some people have suggested there is a gang war brewing. I don’t know if that’s true. But, I do know it’s time for us to declare war on these violent gangs."   

The Toronto Chief is peeing his pants and the Mayor has ordered the regimental bugler to blow the order to  "Charge!"  Don't panic Toronto!  Your leaders will do it for you.

______________________________

GREAT GRAPHICS

In case you haven't noticed, the NATIONAL POST publishes the best Information Graphics of any Canadian newspaper, and the POST just happened to have a new one ready to run with the story on the Danzig Street shooting. The graphics are the work of two of Canada's most talented news artists, Jonathon Rivait  and Richard Johnson.   If your not familiar with their work, it's time you paid attention.  Some of their stuff is simply brilliant.  A stellar example is "Anatomy of a Stoning," published in November 2010. It describes the murders of women in Iran - the entire process, and it's chilling.  My tear sheet is too big to scan but you can view it online here CLICK.  And  on July 13 the NATIONAL POST published a phenomenal graphic on the Mexican Cartels and a scorecard on the drug murders. (I guess Chief Billy Blair doesn't read the POST.)  In which other Canadian newspaper will you find a bar graph labelled "Decapitations - 2012 Monthly" ? It's HERE.  The POST calls these valuable employees "Graphics Journalists". I like that.

TORONTO - The City, By Homicide

Here is an interesting companion piece to the homicide graphic.  In the  NATIONAL POST today they included stats which profile the racial origin of both the killers and their victims in Toronto. (above)  Now it is not my intention to compare newspaper graphics here, but merely to supplement  the helpful information.  A few months back the TORONTO STAR published this very detailed Infographic which breaks down all Toronto crime along racial lines.  I had an inkling I might need it for a Blog in future,  and set it aside.  Today is that day.

This is half of what I prepared on the Danzig Street shooting. I will get Part 2 posted ASAP.