2 teens arrested after student shot in parking lot of Toronto school
Two teenagers have been charged with attempted murder and a host of weapons-related charges after a 15-year-old student was shot outside a northwest Toronto high school Thursday, police say.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, Toronto police Insp. Norm Proctor said two 17-year-olds had been arrested and charged.
"Further charges may be pending depending on where this investigation leads us," he said. The two accused cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
"It's a brazen offence, there's no doubt about that," Proctor told reporters. "It's alarming. One shooting is too many, but any shooting on a school property or in relation to a school or young people raises the alarm bells even louder."
The victim of the shooting, which happened just after noon Thursday at Weston Collegiate Institute near Pine Street and MacDonald Avenue, remains in hospital in "critically stable" condition, Proctor said.
Police say the two accused pulled into the school's parking lot in a grey 2022 Hyundai Elantra, and then the driver shot the victim multiple times in the torso from the car.
Vehicle taken in carjacking, police say
The suspects then took off, and that vehicle was later found in Peel, Proctor said. Investigators discovered the car had been stolen in a carjacking earlier that day in that region, he added. With the help of Peel police, the teens were identified alongside an "address of interest," where they were arrested Friday morning, police say.
The two teens are also facing a charge of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Proctor said a loaded 9-millimetre handgun was seized at the location of the arrests. Shell casings from a 9-millimetre gun were found at the scene of the shooting, he said, adding that police do not currently have evidence to suggest that the gun officers seized was the weapon used.
Police say they do not believe the two accused attended the school in question. Proctor could not comment on any links to organized crime, or links between the victim and his alleged attackers.
"We're still weeding through the information and again, trying to uncover the evidence to see where it takes us," he said.
School staff helped injured student
Police are not aware of any outstanding suspects, but Proctor cautioned the investigation is ongoing.
The inspector also praised school staff, who stepped in to help after the wounded victim ran back inside the school.
Toronto District School Board spokesperson Ryan Bird said Thursday that officials are thinking of the student who was injured, and that the board was bringing in supports for students who need them.
"Some of our staff immediately jumped in and, quite frankly, were tending to the student who was very clearly injured and tried to keep him as comfortable as possible until paramedics could arrive," Bird said.
