In a tragic incident at one of Canada’s largest Latin celebrations, two individuals lost their lives and four others were injured when a pair of gunmen began shooting.

Frightened festival-goers dashed for cover as authorities initiated an intense search for two male suspects on Saturday night.

This violent outbreak took place amidst the bustling Salsa on St. Clair festival in Toronto, turning an evening filled with live music, dance, and joy into an urgent crime investigation.

Chaos ensued as gunshots echoed, with attendees frantically fleeing from the area of the incident.

Eyewitnesses recounted dramatic scenes where some protected their children, sought refuge in eateries, and toppled patio furniture in their haste.

Toronto Police confirmed officers were called to reports of a shooting at 8.12pm near the intersection of St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue, where 13,000 people had gathered for the annual cultural event.

When officers arrived, they discovered six people suffering from gunshot wounds, two of whom were pronounced dead at the scene.

Four others were rushed for to hospital after suffering serious injuries.  

During a press conference just before 11pm, Toronto Deputy Police Chief Frank Berto did not identify any of the victims, nor did investigators release any information about the two wanted suspects as the search continued late into the night.

Authorities described the situation as an active shooter investigation and urged members of the public to stay far away from the area while officers secured the scene.

‘As you can imagine, the information is flowing very very quickly when something like this is unfolding. We have now established about three crime scenes and homicide investigators and gun and gang crime investigators are on the scene conducting what is a very complex investigation into what took place,’ Chief Berto said. 

‘The festival essentially has been moved back away from the scene and the investigation of this area will be cordoned off for some time while investigators go about their work.’

The shooting unfolded at one of Toronto’s best-known summer celebrations, which had closed a stretch of St. Clair Avenue West between Winona Drive and Christie Street for live entertainment, food vendors and cultural performances.

Ana Bettencourt was only one block from where the shooting happened and thought she could hear ‘muffled powerful fireworks.’

‘And then everyone started running, which obviously then I did the same. We just trampled over each other and were running and took one of the side streets,’ she told CTV.

When she heard a shooter was on the loose, she ducked for cover.  

‘That was equally scary. If anything, it was scarier for me then. Myself plus a number of people of course, we started trampling around and running. I went to another alleyway and then ducked under a car, just waiting until the commotion died down,’ she said.

‘All I wanted to do was to get out of that area and whatever cost.’

The area was suddenly flooded with police officers, paramedics and emergency responders as investigators worked to determine exactly what happened.

Another festival attendee, Jacy Lin, said everything happened extremely quickly. 

‘Everybody was just leaving,’ she said to CP24. ‘Everything happened so fast.’

The normally festive street was quickly sealed off as authorities searched for evidence and attempted to track down whoever was responsible for the deadly attack.

Police later said the scene had been secured. No information on a suspect or arrests was immediately released.

Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford released a statement following the shooting.

‘I am devastated by the senseless violence at the Salsa on St. Clair Festival that has claimed two lives and injured others. My thoughts are with the victims, their families and everyone affected,’ Ford wrote on X. 

‘Thank you to Toronto Police and our first responders for responding to this horrific incident. The person responsible must be caught, brought to justice and spend the rest of their life behind bars.’ 

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney also shared statement following the bloodbath.

‘I am horrified by the shooting that has killed two people at the Salsa on St. Clair Festival in Toronto,’ he said.

‘My prayers are with the families grieving their loved ones, those who are in critical condition, and everyone who has been affected by this horrific event. 

‘My thanks to the police officers and other first responders whose courage and fast action prevented further tragedy. 

‘Police have my full support as they work to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Salsa on St. Clair is a celebration of Latin culture which returned for its 22nd iteration this year.

The two-day festival transforms St Clair Ave West in Midtown Toronto’s Hillcrest Village and features, music, dance and food. 

The busy area is lined with stores and restaurants and the festival draws thousands each year. 

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) — An individual sustained injuries from gunfire, leading to the abrupt closure of a car culture event in the northern suburbs on Saturday evening, as reported by officials.

According to Waukegan 4th Ward Alderman Victor Felix and confirmed by local police, the incident occurred at the site of Scoop Waukegan, where authorities were dispatched following the shooting.

Amid this beloved street celebration intended for car lovers, known as Scoop Waukegan in downtown, gunfire disrupted the peaceful atmosphere abruptly.

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In the heart of downtown, police cordoned off the area with crime tape after shots were fired near the busy intersection of Genesee and Washington streets, describing the event as an isolated incident.

Witnesses relayed to ABC7 the panic that ensued, with adults and children scrambling for safety during the unsettling moments.

The event, in its second and final day, was closed early due to the shooting. In a social media post, Ald. Felix said a person was shot and was receiving medical attention.

“Due to the heavy law enforcement presence already stationed at the festival, the scene was contained immediately by on-site first responders who secured the area, provided medical attention, and ensured the safety of festival attendees,” an update from police read in part.

Police haven’t given a motive behind the shooting. or said if anyone has been arrested

Scoop Waukegan event organizers shared the following statement:
“What a weekend!

“While today’s event ended a little earlier than planned, we’re incredibly grateful for the amazing turnout and support all weekend long.

“You showed up and showed out, making this one of the biggest Scoops to date. Downtown was packed with incredible cars, passionate enthusiasts, and an energy that made this year’s event one to remember.

“If you were planning to head downtown, please hold off on making the trip. Vehicles will not be permitted into the festival area as we conclude this year’s event. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

“Thank you to everyone who attended, volunteered, sponsored, and helped make Scoop such a success. We can’t wait to see you all again next year!”

The Toronto Police Service has launched an investigation following a shooting incident that erupted Saturday night at a bustling Latin street festival in Midtown Toronto. The outbreak of violence left at least two people dead and four others injured.

Authorities reported receiving multiple calls concerning a shooting near St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue at 8:12 p.m. local time. Officers responding to the scene quickly determined it was an active shooter situation.

Emergency responders arriving at the scene found six individuals suffering from gunshot injuries. Tragically, officials confirmed that two of the victims died at the scene.

The motive behind the attack remains unclear, and authorities have indicated that the suspect or suspects are still at large.

Following the shooting, the Toronto Transit Commission suspended train stops at the nearby St. Clair West station on Line 1 Yonge-University due to what officials described as a “security incident.”

Regular transit service has since resumed.

Authorities urged the public to avoid the area and follow all directives from police at the scene.

The TD Salsa on St. Clair Festival, Toronto’s biggest Latin culture celebration, was celebrating its 22nd annual event in Toronto’s Hillcrest Village.

The Toronto Police Service told News Media no further information is available.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Following on the heels of National French Fry Day, The California Post ventured into Griffith Park to determine the best fries in LA at the first-ever Los Angeles French Fry Festival. This event drew in droves of Angelenos eager to pay homage to this beloved potato dish.

We indulged in selections from ten of LA’s premier vendors, each chosen with care by Street Food Cinema and Bucketlisters, the masterminds behind the event.

“With a focus on exceptional flavor, top ratings, and devoted fans, our lineup was thoughtfully selected,” noted Heather Hope-Allison, producer at Street Food Cinema. “Our goal was to present a diverse range of vendors known for crafting outstanding fries.”

The next step was a rigorous taste test, led by fry aficionado and California Post producer Steve Nevills, who took on the challenge of identifying which vendor truly deserves the title of LA’s top fry maker.

“I consider myself a fry expert,” Nevills shared. “French fries were the first solid food I had as a child, and while others just now recognize fries as a main dish, I’ve been a devoted follower of this trend my whole life. I’ve sampled from countless venues, always on the lookout for innovative approaches in the fry community.”

Nevills determined that the best overall fries were from the Chick Truck because of their perfectly textured waffle fries with crispy buffalo chicken and blue cheese crumbles. He was overwhelmed by their aroma before even taking his first bite.

The runner-up was from vendor Everyday is Fryday, who wowed Nevills with its mango-habanero fries, a creative and well-balanced blend of flavors and textures with a spicy kick. 

And finally, the best plain basic fry came from vendor Frylicious because of its perfect texture: crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, not too skinny and not too thick. These fries paired perfectly with the huge variety of sauces available at the festival.

French fries are taking off as a foodie trend across California and chefs are cooking with them in all kinds of creative ways. The French fry festival shows how fries are evolving from a humble sidekick to the star of the show.

“They’re so versatile,” Hope-Allison said. “They’re so shareable. You can explore thousands of sauces. I think it’s time we showed fries the appreciation they deserved all along.”

An explosive report has surfaced, revealing an alleged $230 million fraud within the K-12 education system. This revelation comes amidst a tumultuous backdrop of stringent measures enforced under former President Trump’s administration, which sought to tighten oversight in education spending.

Meanwhile, a recent analysis of Ivy League institutions has shed light on the political leanings of their governing bodies. Remarkably, only 10% of trustees are identified as Republican, and, in a striking discovery, Yale University has no Republican trustees at all.

In another education-related controversy, a California high school has become entangled in a legal battle with the state. The school’s resistance to Governor Gavin Newsom’s mandate to change their ‘Indians’ mascot highlights a broader cultural and political debate over the portrayal of indigenous peoples in school imagery.

: Teachers who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination now cash in with taxpayer-funded settlements

Florida board votes to ban illegal immigrants from public college admissions

As Graham Platner’s Senate campaign in Maine crumbles, Democrats find themselves exchanging emotional support and strategic advice amid the fallout.

Many are likening Platner’s scandal-induced exit to the dramatic 2024 presidential race, where Joe Biden bowed out in early July, handing the nomination to his Vice President, Kamala Harris.

This parallel underscores a growing sense of despair among Democrats regarding their prospects of capturing the Maine seat, currently held by Republican Susan Collins, which is pivotal for reclaiming Senate control.

Some of the despondency arises from Harris’s insistence that her overwhelming defeat to Donald Trump was mainly due to her receiving the nomination just 107 days before the election.

In her book, framed around this very issue, Harris suggests this timing was to blame for her downfall. However, she avoids acknowledging that her candidacy failed to resonate, lacking a clear, compelling alternative to the previous administration’s unpopular policies.

Asked what she would do differently in a slobbering appearance on “The View,” she hesitated before giving the vapid response, “not a thing comes to mind.”

Well, then. Platner’s replacement will have even less time than Harris did, with party honchos in Maine saying they will pick a new candidate at a convention late this month.

Time is clearly important, but there’s another similarity to the Harris campaign that is also highly relevant to events in Maine.

Notably, Platner is in major ways a carbon copy of Harris’ disastrous choice for a running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz.

Tampon Tim’s personality, appearance and background reflect some of the same features that led many Maine Dems to fall in love with Platner.

Both men are beefy and gruff, military veterans and blue collar by nature, making them distinct from the angry soy boys and arch feminists who are the dominant faces of a party moving further and further left.

At the same time, Walz and Platner managed to talk the talk of the progressive activists. They looked like the Dems’ idea of a Republican, but bought into the mantra of virtually unlimited immigration, higher taxes, anti-police rhetoric and the cultish fever on transgender and racial issues.

After Trump’s 2024 victory, Walz, speaking on a podcast, conceded that he was selected by Harris simply to appeal to blue-collar, white male voters, who Democrats have been losing for decades.

“I was on the ticket, quite honestly, because I could code talk to white guys watching football, fixing their truck, doing that, then I could put them at ease,” he said.

Although his biography and boisterous manner convinced Dems he was the Everyman they needed, the targeted demographic weren’t impressed. The ticket won just 43 percent of the male vote nationwide, while Trump and JD Vance pulled in 55 percent.

In Platner’s case, Maine Dems’ hunger for a progressive “real man” was so overpowering that his backers were willing to overlook his huge Nazi tattoo, as if that’s common among real men.

GQ Magazine, in a glowing profile that aimed to explain the appeal of his campaign, declared him “the virile, earthy working man many male politicians wish they were.”

Sufficient Maine voters bought into the hype by looking past Platner’s vile social media posts and the complaints of his excessive drinking and sexual misconduct, some of which he conceded.

Neither did it matter to Sen. Bernie Sanders, who endorsed him. Or to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who called him “my kinda man” despite his reportedly saying that victims of rape should “take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f–ked up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?”

Victim complex

Nor was it a problem for his supporters when he reportedly wrote “I dig it” next to an online video showing Hamas terrorists murdering Israeli soldiers.

None of that was enough to stop or even slow down a train that was bound for glory. Only when Politico reported credible allegations last week that he had committed sexual assault with a former girlfriend, who went public, did the dam break, with Sanders and Warren abandoning ship.

Two days later, Platner faced the music and quit the race.

Even then, he hesitated and threatened to stay on the ballot and fight it out with the party before withdrawing as the deadline approached.

“We went toe-to-toe with one of the most entrenched political systems in the history of the world, and we won,” Platner said in announcing his withdrawal in a social media video. “And now they are not going to let us have it, not if it’s me.”

Contrition was not on his mind, as he defiantly insisted that “We’re not doing it because of the allegations; we’re doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.”

See, he’s a victim. Maybe that’s why so many Dems liked him.

In the Trump era, victimhood is the engine of the Socialist-driven left.

In the past, those engaging in extramarital affairs often relied on hidden phones, erased messages, and well-thought-out excuses to cover their tracks.

However, a prominent technology specialist warns that artificial intelligence is swiftly rendering these methods obsolete by piecing together countless digital fragments into a comprehensive and incriminating picture.

Every piece of digital evidence—from location signals and toll receipts to license plate data, credit transactions, discarded messages, and surveillance footage—could potentially form a trail pointing back to clandestine liaisons.

Even old affairs, which may have concluded years ago, are not immune as AI develops the capacity to sift through decades-old data breaches in mere moments.

“If it exists in digital form, handle it as if it could be broadcast on a billboard,” tech specialist Kim Komando told the Daily Mail, highlighting the eventual risks digital data might pose.

Komando believes the public has entered an age where they should assume their digital secrets could eventually come to light, saying that ‘this is not a someday problem, it is a next-12-months problem,’ she said. 

‘The tools to scrape, match and expose someone’s private life already exist. What’s changing is the price and the skill it takes to run them, and both are dropping fast,’ she added.

‘Once a scammer can point AI at a pile of stolen data and have it stitch together an affair, a secret or a lie in minutes, blackmail stops being targeted and starts being automated. 

‘My advice to anyone reading this: assume the embarrassing thing you did online is findable, and act like it today, not the day the email lands.’

Komando pointed to the infamous 2015 Ashley Madison hack, when hackers leaked the personal details of roughly 37 million users of the website designed for those seeking extramarital affairs. 

But she said the threat today is far greater than it was a decade ago because AI can analyze enormous amounts of stolen data almost instantly.

‘Marriages ended. Careers ended,’ Komando said, referring to the Ashley Madison hack.

‘That was more than a decade ago, before AI could sort through stolen data at superhuman speed. 

‘Here’s the rule I tell everyone: if it exists in digital form, treat it like it could end up on a billboard. Because someday, somewhere, it might. 

Her warning comes as experts say the internet is entering a dangerous new era, with AI dramatically increasing both the speed and sophistication of cyberattacks. 

According to cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, daily attacks among its clients increased fourfold between 2024 and 2025, while experts warn companies are now being hacked ‘every single day.’ 

While some people believe they can simply delete incriminating texts or photos, Komando said that is rarely enough.

When asked if someone could realistically conduct an affair today without leaving any digital evidence, she replied: ‘Only if you’re willing to live like it’s 1985.

‘No phone in your pocket, cash for everything, no toll roads, no modern car, no smart doorbell on either end.’

She explained that the average American is quietly tracked dozens of times each day by connected devices they rarely think about.

Phones constantly communicate with nearby cell towers, modern vehicles store location histories, smart doorbells record visitors and apps log movements in the background.

‘You’d need the discipline of a spy and the lifestyle of a hermit,’ Komando said. ‘Real people have neither.’

She believes AI has fundamentally changed how criminals process stolen information.

In the past, hackers who stole millions of records still had to sift through mountains of data manually.

Today, AI can automatically connect information pulled from multiple breaches.

‘It cross-references your email from one breach, your home address from another, your dating profile from a third, and builds a dossier on you automatically,’ Komando explained.

She pointed to industry figures showing how quickly the threat is growing, noting that cybersecurity company CrowdStrike reported AI-enabled cyberattacks jumped 89 percent in a single year, while AI-generated phishing emails have surged more than 1,200 percent since ChatGPT launched.

‘The grunt work that used to take a criminal weeks now takes software seconds,’ she said.

Experts also warn that hackers are now using AI to create malware that can adapt to evade detection, while stolen databases that once took criminals hours to sift through can now be analyzed in minutes. 

Komando warned that deleting evidence rarely makes it disappear forever.

‘When you hit delete, most companies don’t actually shred your data,’ she said.

‘They flag it, archive it, or keep it in backups for months or years.’

Metadata, records showing who contacted whom, when and from where, often survives even longer than the messages themselves.

That means future data breaches may expose not only what exists today, but digital records people believed had vanished years ago.

‘Your past isn’t protected by time,’ Komando said. ‘It’s waiting in storage.’

She likened old data breaches to sealed envelopes that AI is only now learning to open.

‘Data stolen in breaches from 2012, 2015, 2018 is still floating around out there,’ she said. ‘Back then, it was a useless pile of hay. Millions of random emails, texts and location logs that no criminal had the patience to dig through. AI changed the math.’

‘The affair you thought you got away with in 2014? The evidence didn’t disappear. Nobody has read it yet.’

Komando said people often underestimate just how many digital trails they leave behind every day.

Among them are location histories stored on smartphones, toll transponders, license plate readers, vehicle GPS logs, hotel loyalty programs, airline accounts, fitness trackers, smart home devices and payment apps.

Even family technology can become a source of evidence.

‘Shared photo albums, shared streaming profiles, Find My on the family plan,’ she said. ‘Your household is a surveillance network you installed yourself and pay a monthly fee for.’

Even if someone carefully deletes messages, Komando said, copies often remain elsewhere.

Photos can stay in ‘recently deleted’ folders for weeks, text messages are preserved in cloud backups and phone carriers maintain records showing which numbers communicated and when.

More importantly, deleting one copy does nothing to erase the version stored on someone else’s phone or computer.

‘You can only delete your half of a conversation,’ Komando said. She also argued that attempts to hide an affair may create suspicious patterns of their own.

‘A phone that mysteriously powers off every Thursday at 6pm is a pattern,’ she said. ‘A sudden switch to a secret messaging app is a pattern. Absence of data is data.’

According to Komando, AI excels at recognizing exactly those kinds of patterns.

Two phones appearing at the same location every week, recurring gas station purchases far from home, or repeated visits supposedly made to the gym without corresponding fitness activity may each appear meaningless on their own.

But AI can rapidly combine thousands of those seemingly unrelated clues.

‘Finding patterns humans miss in oceans of boring data is literally what the technology does best,’ she said.

The growing cyber threat means those clues may become available to criminals far more quickly than in the past. 

Moody’s Ratings found the average time it takes hackers to exploit a newly disclosed software vulnerability has plunged from more than 700 days in 2020 to just 44 days in 2025, faster than many organizations can patch the flaws. 

Asked whether anyone could still have an affair without leaving digital evidence in 2026, Komando’s answer was unequivocal.

‘I’d tell them no,’ she said. ‘Between phones, cars, cameras, cards and AI that can stitch it all together, there is no clean getaway anymore.’

‘The only truly affair-proof technology ever invented is not having one,’ she added. ‘Everything else leaves a receipt.’