Over a week after a mass shooting claimed two lives and injured several others at Toronto’s Salsa on St. Clair, the future of the beloved festival remains up in the air.

A safety roundtable was held as one major sponsor threatens to pull its future support for the event amid the very public fatal shooting.

Those who participated in the roundtable talk Monday want to ensure the headlines don’t fade without action being taken. 

Latino community advocate Marilyn Solano was among those who shared her family’s experience at the discussion hosted by TeleLatino Network (TLN), the founder and main sponsor of Salsa on St. Clair. 

“My son had to witness a young lady get shot in the neck, him and his friend, and I had to protect my 10-year-old daughter from getting trampled on.

She said he sensed there would be trouble when they arrived earlier that evening. 

“My son right away said to me that he didn’t feel safe because there were a lot of people that were wearing masks and hoodies. They had their little fanny packs and they don’t feel safe,”

The broadcaster has threatened to pull the plug on the bustling festival, which it estimates drew about a million people last year. 

“I think we have to be angry about this. We can’t just say we need more programs,” said Toronto Deputy Mayor and Councillor Mike Colle.

The focus was on public safety, guns, gangs and youth violence and the discussion involved high-ranking police officers, city and federal politicians along with experts in the field. 

Irvin Studin, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee who studied the impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns on students and their mental health, suggested the ripple effects are still being felt. 

“I grew up in a safe Toronto. So the message is the pandemic was our disaster. There is no prehistory to the pandemic. There is pre-2020 Toronto and there is post-2020 Toronto and we must reckon with that,” said Studen.

“Adults with youth work with the youth in person. Don’t tweet at them, don’t post online, don’t do work on screens. We need the energy of the society in person.”

It comes amid changes to the Criminal Code of Canada through Ottawa’s new bail and sentencing reform which came into effect last month. It was highlighted as a course of action by Vince Gasparro who said he hoped to see results immediately.

Supeintendent Ryan Forde with 13 Division said he believes it’s a step in the right direction for Toronto. “I hope to see how that looks when it matriculates though the system.”

But Solano said the situation requires all hands on deck.

“Parents need guidance, the schools need guidance, teachers need guidance because police aren’t even allowed to go into school. I think everything got dismantled and we need to figure out how to we go back to things that worked in the past,” said Solano.

The president of TLN, Aldo Di Felice, told CityNews he’s focused on having these public safety discussions with the city, police and event organizers and hasn’t decided if TLN will continue supporting the festival. 

As for the police investigation into the shooting, no arrests have been made and no further details on suspects have been released.

The Unit Commander for 13 Division said Monday during the roundtable that the festival was fully staffed and on that day, there was no intelligence to suggest there was a shooting threat.