Gun violence is on the rise in Canada. In parts of the Greater Toronto Area, it's a record-breaking year

Melanie Ward remembers the moment she learned her son was dead with haunting clarity.

"I just dropped to my knees and screamed," she said.

Her son, Alexander Circiumaru, was on his way to an appointment in downtown Hamilton earlier this year but never made it.

The 19-year-old was shot multiple times in broad daylight on March 6 in what Hamilton police believe was a targeted attack. Circiumaru was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

Ward, who lives near Naples, Fla., said she's been picking up the pieces of her life ever since.

"I lost my son. I lost the teenager. I lost the 19 years of his life and now I lose his future."

Ward is one of many family members grappling with the consequences of growing gun violence in Hamilton and across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) this year. Several of the region's police forces have warned of an alarming rise in shootings since January.

The rise in gun violence in the GTA also reflects a larger trend that's taking place across Canada.

In Hamilton, there have been 58 shootings as of Nov. 4, compared to 35 for all of last year — a record for the city, according to Staff Sgt. Steve Bereziuk. 

He leads the Hamilton Police Service's shooting response team, one of the few police units of its kind in Canada, recently formed to address the rise in gun violence there.

"These shootings are occurring specifically at all hours of the day but what we're starting to see is a trend of daytime shootings and not just daytime shootings, but shootouts between individuals and involving more than one firearm," Bereziuk said.

He said there have been several notably disturbing incidents in the last year, including one daytime shooting in August in the city's east end where someone was used a human shield. In another incident, a man was shot after letting a six-year-old play with his gun.

"We're concerned. That is no secret. These are scary numbers," Bereziuk said. 

Peel Regional Police officers are, on average, seizing an illegal firearm every 36 hours, "leading to more gun violence than we've ever seen," Chief Nishan Duraiappah said in a video update posted last month.