Eight teenage girls who apparently met on social media have been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a 59-year-old man, Toronto police said Tuesday.
Investigators allege the girls assaulted and stabbed the man in downtown Toronto early Sunday morning. Police said doctors took the man to hospital, where he died.
According to the police, the eight girls were arrested near the scene of the attack. Three of the girls are 13, three are 14 and two are 16.
Detective Sergeant. Terry Browne of the Toronto Police Service Homicide Squad said they believed the girls were trying to take a bottle of alcohol from the man.
“I’ve been in politics for almost 35 years and you think you’ve seen it all,” Browne said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Anyone who isn’t shocked to hear something like this has clearly just thrown in the towel and said anything is possible in this world. Eight young girls and most are under 16. If not not alarming and shocking to everyone, so frankly, we’re all in trouble.”
Browne said the same girls had an altercation earlier in the night in the area. He declined to give further details about it.
“They met through social media. They’re from different parts of town,” Browne said. “We don’t know how or why they met that night and why the destination was downtown Toronto. We don’t know how long they’ve known each other. I wouldn’t describe them as a gang at this stadium. “
Browne said they took part in a “swarm”. He declined to say if they filmed it. He said they would look to see if there were any similar attacks online.
“Maybe it was about eight young women who wanted to make a name for themselves and see if they could become socially famous,” he said.
Police believe they all acted in concert.
“They are all equally guilty,” he said. “There is no doubt in our minds that they were all working as a singular entity in a teeming mob mentality when they chose to attack this man.”
He said a number of weapons were seized, but he declined to say what type. He also said that three of the girls had already met with the police.
“It’s weird that they all met and found their way to downtown Toronto. Their primary residences are all over the place,” he said.
Browne said police spoke to the teens’ parents.
“I can tell you it was a shock to learn that their children were involved in an event like this,” he said.
Canadian authorities cannot release the girls’ names by law because they are underage.
They made their first court appearance and are still in custody. The next court appearance will be in December. 29.
Browne said the victim began living in the Toronto shelter system in September. He said they were unable to reach some family members and until they do, they will not release his name.
“He has a very supportive family in the area, so I wouldn’t necessarily call him homeless. Maybe recently, by bad luck,” he said.
Browne said they were asking anyone who saw the group of teenagers that night to contact police.
He said that 20 or 30 years ago in Toronto, young teenagers would invade others and try to steal Dr. Martens boots or Air Jordan shoes for a while, but said that ended up faded.
“Has this happened recently that we’re not aware of? Have people posted this stuff online that we weren’t aware of?” he said. “That’s something we’re going to try to find out.”
Girls generally make up a minority of crime in Canada, with boys twice as likely to engage in violent behavior, according to government statistics.
According to statistics published by the Toronto Police Service, there were 68 homicides this year, a 16% decrease from last year. The city saw 17 stabbing deaths in 2022, marking a 13.3% increase in such homicides from 2021.
The incident comes just days after a man in suburban Toronto shot and killed five people in his condominium buildingincluding three members of the condominium board.
AFP contributed to this report.
0 Comments