Toronto skateboard legend, shot intervening in a fight, remembered one year after his death
A group of skateboarders was out hitting the ramps at Dufferin Grove Park Saturday in memory of Toronto pro skateboard legend Justin Bokma on the one-year anniversary of his death.
Bokma, who his friends said was one of the first pro skateboarders from the city to make it big in the United States, was fatally shot after intervening in an altercation at an after-hours club on College Street where he worked as a bouncer.
His childhood friend, Bill Weiss, said that Bokma was a skateboarding pioneer who touched many lives in the community.
"If you were a younger skater...he would go out of the way to introduce himself and help [you] along the way," Weiss said.
Many of those that turned out to remember Bokma on Saturday were amateur skaterboarders who he inspired.
One such skater, Mike Morris, said Bokma's legacy is important to him because it shows that, "anybody from Canada can go out and get it if they want it hard enough."
Justin Bokma's mother, Nancy Bokma, said the memorial is an honour that "is keeping Justin alive."
She said that her son was lauded as a hero. "Somebody came to the funeral and he hugged me and he said: 'I was at the club.' He said that 'Justin saved my life.'"
"That was my son," Bokma said. "He would help anybody if he could."
Nancy Bokma said the police are still searching for a suspect. She hopes that anyone with information will come forward so that the family can finally get justice for her son.
