Police officers across Toronto were dispatched to a shooting on Tuesday night in the city’s northwest end which left one person dead and five injured.

Police responded to a call at 8:37 p.m. in Lawrence Heights, where they say three suspects approached a cluster of people, shot into the group and then fled the area, in what they called an act of “brazen violence.” One man, 31, was pronounced dead in the hospital in Toronto’s 13th homicide of this year.

Rain and cooler temperatures on the Prairies offered little to no respite from multiple wildfires burning in the region, as provinces opened thousands of hotel rooms for evacuees from Western Canada.

More than 190 wildfires were active across the country Monday, with 97 deemed out of control. Hazardous smoke and thick fumes reached beyond the Canadian border, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which issued air-quality warnings from Minnesota to Florida.

Wildfires across Western Canada have forced thousands of people from their homes, as dry, warm and windy temperatures intensified new flares Friday, causing Manitoba to ask for international help.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan are under provincewide states of emergency for the next month, while evacuations have also been ordered in large parts of Alberta and British Columbia.

In the former Bond Place Hotel in downtown Toronto, which is now a supportive housing building, a brightly decorated six-foot-tall vending machine is placed in the facility’s newly renovated lobby, ready to dispense items.

Instead of confectionery or other snacks, it distributes life-saving supplies – naloxone, clean syringes, HIV testing kits, personal hygiene products – for free.

The City of Toronto’s announcement that it will spend $2.1-million to increase security at festivals is being met with relief from local event organizers who say it is a first step toward developing a comprehensive plan to better protect pedestrians from hostile vehicle attacks.

Meg Marshall, who organizes July’s OssFest street festival, a one-day event showcasing trendy restaurants, boutiques and cafes on Ossington Avenue, applauded the city for stepping up to bolster security following the vehicle attack at last month’s Lapu-Lapu Day festival in Vancouver.