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Gun violence is on the rise in Edmonton in 2023, city police say.

According to a Thursday morning news release by the Edmonton Police Service, shootings have increased by 42 per cent compared to last year. As of Nov. 30, 204 shootings have been reported to police, compared to 144 at this time last year.

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Last month, police said there were a total of 11 reported shootings in the city. Of the 11, nine are believed to be targeted and four resulted in injuries. One of the shootings also resulted in the death of a father and son. However, compared to November 2022, reported shootings were down one per cent.

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The risk to public safety was high, police said, as 10 of the 11 shootings had the potential for innocent bystanders to be harmed.

“Driving, shopping and walking near your home should not be this unsafe, and the reckless daytime shooting deaths at a busy shopping complex in early November clearly underscores that any respect for the safety of innocent citizens among organized crime groups is non-existent,” said Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart of the EPS gangs and guns section of the organized crime branch.

“The ongoing threat to public safety that results when gun violence erupts in public spaces remains a concern that we are actively working to challenge and eliminate.”

So far in 2023, police have seized 825 firearms.

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