DRUG LINK TO FORD SHOOTING

History Of Gun Violence: Husband Gunned Down Child's Father Seven
Years Ago

Toronto police are treating the shooting of a city councillor's sister
as a drug-related crime and have not ruled out laying charges against
the victim, Kathy Ford.

Detectives interviewed the 45-year-old last night at Toronto's
Sunnybrook Hospital, where she is coherent and recovering after a
gunman fired a bullet that grazed the top of her head.

Staff Sergeant Jack Kelly said yesterday the shooter and his
accomplice were invited inside for what appears to be a drug deal gone
awry.

"It has something to do with the purchase of drugs, a disagreement
regarding the purchase of drugs," he said, refusing to elaborate on
what role Ms. Ford might have played.

For those close to the family, Thursday's shooting dredged up memories
of another crime involving Ms. Ford and her two children.

In July, 1998, the woman and her daughter -- then 11 -- watched as a
shotgun-wielding intruder opened fire on the young girl's father,
Michael Kiklas.

The gunman was Ennio Stirpe, Ms. Ford's husband and the father of her
then-infant son. Citing abuse, Ms. Ford had recently left Stirpe and
gone to live with Mr. Kiklas, her high-school sweetheart.

After fleeing the murder scene, Stirpe led police on a three-day
manhunt that ended in a high-speed chase along Highway 401 in Durham
Region. A cruiser pinned his stolen station wagon against a guardrail.

When officers later escorted him from a hospital to his jail cell, he
yelled to reporters: "See you in court, boys."

Journalists covered Stirpe's second-degree murder trial, but scant
mention was made of Ms. Ford's link to the case, despite her family's
prominent political background. Doug Ford, her father, was at the time
an Ontario MPP in Mike Harris's Conservative government and her
brother, Rob Ford, is a Toronto city councillor.

As a witness to the crime, she was a key Crown witness, describing how
Mr. Kiklas, an avid kickboxer, tried to protect her and the two
children moments before he was killed.

"It's sad," Rick Schwarzl, the Crown attorney who prosecuted the case,
said of Thursday's shooting. "It is the second time in her life she
has looked down the barrel of a gun. It's horrific."

In June, 2000, a judge found Stirpe guilty of manslaughter and
sentenced him to 13 years in prison. He was also slapped with a
$10,000 bill for Mr. Kiklas's funeral.

Tania MacDonald, Mr. Kiklas's sister, said she worries that her niece
- -- now 17 -- will be overcome by the unenviable burden of having lived
through the shootings of both her parents.

She and her 11-year-old brother were outside when their mother was
shot in the kitchen, but they did watch the alleged gunman peel away
in the family Jaguar. They called 911 moments later.

"She's gone through a lot in the last few years," Ms. MacDonald said
of her niece. The National Post has decided not to print the names of
Ms. Ford's children.

Ms. MacDonald planned to visit Ms. Ford in the hospital yesterday, but
decided to wait for official confirmation that the shooting was not
linked to the murder of her brother. During the trial, Stirpe
repeatedly threatened her family and even though he remains behind
bars, she fears he is still dangerous.

"I'm a little concerned," she said. "I'm worried about my niece. I'm
worried about Kathy. And I'd really like to know that it didn't have
anything to do with Ennio Stirpe."

Police have not officially said so, but it appears they have ruled out
that possibility. In fact, sources close to Coun. Ford say the family
has been told Stirpe definitely had nothing to do with the shooting.

Acting on a tip, police pulled over the Fords' black Jaguar yesterday
morning. The two men inside were questioned and charged with
weapons-related offences and are being held until forensic
investigators finish processing the crime scene.

Detectives are also questioning an unidentified woman who was in the
house at the time of the shooting.

Staff Sgt. Kelly said investigators are still trying to figure out
what type of drugs were involved, who was buying and who was selling.

In the meantime, the Ford family has asked for privacy, saying in a
prepared statement that they appreciate "the outpouring of support
from friends, councillor colleagues, and the community at large."

Kathy Ford's parents, Doug and Diane, have owned the home where the
shooting occurred for more than three decades. Rob and Kathy grew up
there, and Kathy now lives there with her parents and two children.

Gaye Fisher, a close friend of Ms. Ford's, visited her in the hospital
yesterday.

"She was in and out of consciousness," she said. "I said: 'Kathy,
what's going on?' And she said: 'Gaye, I don't know what's going on. I
don't know what's going on.' That is all she kept saying."

"She's been through enough and I hope this is it for her," she
continued. "Her whole life has just been one traumatic thing after
another. For some people, that's just the way things work."