'Should have shot him a couple more times': Canadian leader triggers woke foes after homeowner opens fire on alleged intruder

After a gun-toting homeowner in Ontario, Canada, opened fire and wounded an alleged intruder earlier this week, Premier Doug Ford lauded the homeowner and said intruders "need to be shot," the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

"Congratulations for shooting this guy — should have shot him a couple more times as far as I'm concerned," Ford replied after being asked about the incident during an unrelated news conference Wednesday, according to the CBC.

'We have seen far too many of these incidents involving individuals who were already known to police and out on release orders, highlighting a deeply broken bail system that is failing our communities.'

Ford also upbraided the Canadian government for "going after legal, law-abiding gun owners" and "weak-kneed judges" for letting suspects walk, the outlet noted.

"They always want to protect the bad guys, the judges always want to protect the Charter rights," Ford said, according to the CBC. "How about the charter of rights of the people to keep them safe rather than always protecting these criminals. I'm just sick and tired of it."

Opposition Leader Marit Stiles of the New Democratic Party called Ford's statement "very irresponsible nonsense" while speaking with reporters Wednesday morning, the outlet said.

"This premier has been premier of this province for eight long years now," she said, according to the CBC. "If people in Ontario feel less safe today, then that's on him as the premier of this province."

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner also used the term "irresponsible" to describe Ford's words in a statement to the outlet: "It is irresponsible for the premier to be making comments encouraging violence or celebrating the loss of life. He should focus on investing in measures that will make our province safer and empower first responders to do their jobs to serve and protect our communities.”

This wasn't the first time Ford has spoken out amid such matters. After a homeowner was charged with aggravated assault for fighting and injuring an armed male who allegedly broke into his Lindsay, Ontario, residence last year, Ford said that "something is broken" in the system when one is punished for self-defense. The CBC last month reported that the homeowner in question no longer will face prosecution.

In regard to this week's incident, York Regional Police said no charges were being filed against the homeowner who used a "legally owned" and "properly stored" gun.

Police said a middle-aged man and an elderly woman were home at the time of the incident, and no one living at the home was injured, the CBC reported.

A police press release issued Wednesday said officers responded just before 1 a.m. Tuesday to reports of a shooting at a Vaughan home in the area of Carrville Woods Circle and Crimson Forest Drive, near Rutherford Road and Dufferin Street.

Officials said multiple suspects allegedly armed with at least one gun forced their way into the home and that the suspects later were seen getting into a black pickup truck and fleeing the scene.

Police on Tuesday released video of the incident showing masked suspects entering and leaving the home, the CBC said, adding that rapid gunfire can be heard as they run from the residence to the truck.

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The male who was shot had been dropped off at a Toronto-area hospital shortly after the incident, the police press release said.

Police said Trestin Cassanova-Alman, a 24-year-old male with no fixed address, is facing charges of robbery with a firearm and disguise with intent as well with breaching a probation order "as he was on an outstanding probation order for unrelated offenses at the time of the home invasion."

Cassanova-Alman is in stable condition in the hospital in police custody, the news release said.

At least one politician in the area appears squarely on Ford's side — the mayor of the city where the shooting took place.

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca in a social media statement posted Wednesday said he's thankful the homeowner wasn't charged given that it was an act of self-defense.

"We have seen far too many of these incidents involving individuals who were already known to police and out on release orders, highlighting a deeply broken bail system that is failing our communities," the mayor said.

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