Police have linked a weapon seized after Toronto's Boxing Day shootout to the scene of the crime, where a spray of bullets killed 15-year-old Jane Creba and wounded six others.

However, police told CTV News further forensics testing is required to determine whether the gun fired any of the shots that struck Creba or the other victims.

The weapon is a nine-millimetre Ruger, taken from 20-year-old Andre Thompson and a 17-year-old who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Thompson was recently released on probation after serving 30 days for a convenience store robbery.

Thompson now faces eight firearms charges, including firing a weapon. He has not been charged with the teen's murder.

Creba was killed when a fight between two groups of approximately 15 youths erupted into gunfire that caught shoppers crowding Toronto's busy Yonge Street shopping area.

Caught in the crossfire, Creba died on the scene -- making her the city's 52nd gunshot fatality this year. Six other people were injured, one of them critically.

In a statement released Wednesday, Creba's family mourned the sudden loss of their "bright light."

"Her life has been transformed into a shooting star that will be forever a light for her devoted parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and close friends."

Also reeling from a loss many citizens have taken to heart, the city has poured its heart into a growing, makeshift memorial just metres from where Creba was gunned down.

"It's such a loss," one woman told CTV, after travelling across Toronto to visit the spot littered with flowers, candles and handwritten tributes. "And for someone like that who was completely innocent, just to be gunned down for stupidness really, you know, it's senseless."

Calls for tougher laws

For the chair of the Toronto District School Board, the penalties for those using a gun in any crime should be stiffened.

"I want to see federal criminal legislation that provides for a 10-year surcharge added on to any sentence for a crime in which a gun is in the possession of any of the perpetrators," Sheila Ward said, suggesting a consecutive sentence of a decade in jail would send a powerful message.

"The sentence would not allow for any time off for good behaviour, nor would it be eligible for any other reductions.

According to Ward, tougher sentences are not alone the answer to the growing problem of violence in Canada's biggest city.

She said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty should cancel welfare reform legislation passed by the former Conservative government of Mike Harris.

"We have lost a whole generation of young people because of the mindless slashing and cutting of social programs, which was more concerned about a piddling tax cut than it was about the damage done to the whole social fabric of our province.

"If one of Premier McGuinty's sons got a job tomorrow he would keep every penny he earns. But a child of poverty who gets a job to help his or her family, loses 40 per cent of that paycheck if the Mom resides in social housing. It was a brutally stupid idea when it was introduced and it is shameful that this piece of legislation remains on the books two years after a new government has taken office."

Ward also said she wanted to work with Toronto Mayor David Miller to identify ways in which the city and schools can work together to address youth violence.

Federal leaders on the tragedy

NDP Leader Jack Layton, who is the MP for the riding where Creba's family resides, said tougher border controls, sentences and anti-gang measures will help cleanse Canada's biggest city of gun violence.

He said the "evil men" behind the shootings should serve long and hard time in prison.

He also called for an effective witness protection program, a "real" victims' assistance program and an immediate investment in community programs so that "despair can be turned into hope."

"We all have to make that commitment to Canadians, to the families, that we will come together in Parliament and act on all these issues immediately. And that's certainly a commitment I'm prepared to make today," Layton said during a campaign stop in Toronto.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, meanwhile, blamed the growth in crimes involving guns, gangs and drugs a consequence of the Liberal government's inaction, and its "failure to deal effectively with crime."

"This government is running a revolving door sentencing system," said Harper before highlighting again his party's pledges to introduce mandatory prison sentences for serious crimes.

"We'll make the legislative changes necessary to ensure that we are able to enforce laws against violent repeat and serious criminal behaviour," said the Tory Leader in Vancouver.