Eight girls, just thirteen years old, are facing murder charges fatally stabbed A 59-year-old man in downtown Toronto in what police described as a “crowd” attack.
The teen suspects were arrested shortly after the victim was found on a street in Canada’s largest city suffering multiple stab wounds and was later declared dead at the hospital, Detective Sgt. Terry Brown said.
“I wouldn’t call them a gang at this point, but what they allegedly took place that evening would be consistent with what we’d traditionally call swarming or swarming type behavior,” Brown said at a news conference Thursday. Tuesday.
Toronto Police Department Det. Sgt. Terry Brown, of the Missing and Homicide Unit, announces that eight teenage girls have been charged with murder.
Toronto Police Services
The motive for the killing is still being investigated, but Brown said investigators suspect they were involved in another violent altercation before the murder was committed.
He said the stabbing took place just after midnight on December 18 and that the suspects were located and arrested shortly after in the same area. He said that a number of weapons were recovered from the suspects.
In addition to the three 13-year-olds, Brown said three 14-year-old girls and two 16-year-old suspects have been arrested in the horrific crime that has shocked the city of nearly 3 million people.
The names of the suspects were not released due to their ages. Brown said they have already appeared in court once and remain in detention. They were ordered back to court on December 29.
Map locating Toronto, Canada where 8 teens kill a man
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Brown said the young suspects are from different parts of Toronto and met through social media.
The sergeant said the group had made arrangements to join in downtown Toronto. He said investigators believe they met in the heart of town around 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 17, the day before the killings.
Police are investigating whether the group was involved in other physical altercations in the city, and Brown has asked anyone who has met the girls or been assaulted by them to contact investigators.
The fatal stabbing victim, whose name has not been released, was a Toronto resident, Brown said, who has been living in a homeless shelter since the fall.
“I wouldn’t necessarily describe him as homeless, maybe more recently due to some bad luck,” Brown said, adding that the victim had supportive family members in the area.
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