K-Romulus
Member
Another data point to attack the "only in America" meme.
PLUS - The mayor is calling for a total handgun ban "to prevent thefts from collectors" even though the details of this shooting are still being sorted out (i.e., where the gun came from) (see second article).
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20070524.SHOOTING24/TPStory/National/
And the mayor's response:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070524.SHOOTINGGUNS24/TPStory/National
PLUS - The mayor is calling for a total handgun ban "to prevent thefts from collectors" even though the details of this shooting are still being sorted out (i.e., where the gun came from) (see second article).
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20070524.SHOOTING24/TPStory/National/
GUN VIOLENCE: A CITY IN SHOCK
Teen shot dead in Toronto school
Fight outside North York high school spilled over as gunman followed Grade 9 student up to second floor
CAROLINE ALPHONSO and TIMOTHY APPLEBY AND UNNATI GANDHI
With reports from Omar El Akkad Jennifer Lewington and Karen Howlett
May 24, 2007
TORONTO -- Toronto's plague of gun violence, which simmered in recent months through a steady rattle of street shootings, tore into a North York school yesterday, leaving a teenager dead and a city stunned.
Jordan Manners, 15, was fatally shot in a mid-afternoon attack that triggered a massive police hunt for the killer and brought frantic parents streaming to the campus.
The dead boy, whose birthday was last Friday, was described by weeping friends and stunned neighbours as a popular, trustworthy youth who was well-known and liked in his community on Shoreham Court in the Jane Street and Finch Avenue area.
Friends said Jordan had three older sisters but lived with his mother and older brother.
"Everyone knew him," said Elaine Lawrence, 60, as she stood in her doorway on Shoreham Court. "Those guys over there, the people down there, they're all crying for him."
With no arrests or suspects in custody, the gunman was still loose on Toronto streets last night.
The shooting took place at 2:38 p.m. in a second-floor hallway at C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute on Sentinel Road near Finch and Keele Street.
Witnesses said the shooting was preceded by a fight outside the school. There was no official word on what might have provoked the argument but an unconfirmed report suggested fireworks may have been involved.
The gunman then followed Jordan inside the school and shot him.
The Grade 9 student was taken by ambulance to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where he succumbed to a single gunshot wound to the chest. The weapon was described only as a handgun.
As news of the shooting spread, police from 31 Division and heavily armed tactical officers flooded the area while anxious parents, including Jordan's mother and one of his sisters, rushed to the school.
From there the two went to the emergency room at Sunnybrook. A report said that as Jordan's mother was entering the hospital a man told her, "He's died, Mom," and she collapsed to the ground.
The brown-brick school has approximately 850 students in Grades 9 through 12 and was locked down and fenced off with yellow police tape shortly after the shooting. Parents waited behind the police tape for any word about their children. Some wept. Others searched the crowd for answers.
The blinds of the school were all drawn. Some students said they had to sit under their desks for a period of time during the lockdown. At one point in the afternoon, a young female was brought out on a stretcher. Police said she was faint.
Students called parents to tell them that they were either huddled in their classroom or in the school library.
Outside the school, parent Pauline Edmond said her son had used his cellphone to call her daughter from inside the building.
"He is terrified. That's why I want him out here," she said as she paced around the front of the school.
Students were allowed to leave, classroom by classroom, at about 6 p.m. They were escorted out of the school by police and led onto TTC buses. They were taken to a nearby middle school and then released.
"Students have a right to a safe school environment," Police Chief Bill Blair told reporters after arriving at the scene at about 5 p.m. "It's shocking that such a crime can take place in our schools."
As Emergency Task Force officers entered the school with tear gas, crowbars and sledgehammers, Chief Blair appealed for calm.
"We want to get those students out of the school and home safely," he said.
"I have police officers in every hallway and every school room. Right now we're scouring the school to make sure there is no risk to the students."
By late last night, no arrests had been made by the homicide squad, which took over the investigation after Jordan died. There was a heavy police presence in the neighbourhood last night.
The high school is named after painter C. W. Jefferys (1869-1951), considered one of the great illustrators of Canadian history. It is located a few blocks west of the Jane-Finch neighbourhood, where residents have long endured violent outbreaks of street crime.
A gang known as Bloods is associated with the area south of Finch, known as down-bottom, and the housing complexes at Firgrove and Driftwood Lane. Crips are associated with Shoreham Court, Driftwood Court and other areas north of Finch. Within those gangs are even smaller organizations, based usually on a common home, such as a housing complex.
Hammad Siddiqui, 17, defended his school and the surrounding neighbourhood.
"It's an alright school," the Grade 12 student said. "If you go inside there's nice people, nice teachers, everything's normal. ... It's a good school."
Hammad said he knew Jordan from a drama class last year. He said the slain student liked basketball and rap music, which he would often sing to himself.
At City Hall, the grim news of the shooting was delivered to a meeting of city council by Mayor David Miller.
"I have met with many so many mothers in this city who have lost their sons to violence," he said.
"It is impossible to console a mother in those circumstances. ... Part of the redoubling of efforts has to be dealing with the guns that are causing these tragedies. Guns are different from anything else, they are designed to kill."
Premier Dalton McGuinty echoed the mayor's dismay.
"On behalf of all Ontarians, I want to express my deepest sympathies to all those affected by this tragedy - the family and friends of the victim, the students, parents and staff," he said.
"I want the entire community at C. W. Jefferys C.I. to know that they are in my thoughts and prayers at this difficult time."
Progressive Conservative Party Leader John Tory called the shooting "unbelievable ... a disgusting act that has no place in our schools. ... Like many people, I grew up in a time where the notion of a school lockdown was a foreign one. Now it seems like they're almost commonplace."
This was the city's 26th homicide of the year - the 13th involving a gun.
The Toronto District School Board, which serves 270,000 students in 558 schools, offered its "deepest condolences" to Jordan's family last night and said counsellors and support staff will be on hand when C. W. Jefferys opens its doors this morning.
And the mayor's response:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070524.SHOOTINGGUNS24/TPStory/National
UN VIOLENCE: A CITY IN SHOCK
'This is up to the people'
JENNIFER LEWINGTON
May 24, 2007
Ottawa must close gun-control loopholes with an outright ban on handguns, even in the hands of collectors, Toronto Mayor David Miller declared yesterday.
Speaking hours after the shocking high-school shooting at C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute, Mr. Miller promised to step up federal gun-control lobbying efforts.
"We have got to make it a real issue. It is far too easy for thugs with no conscience to use a gun to create a tragedy like this," he told reporters at Toronto City Hall.
He praised the Harper government for backing legislation to prevent those arrested on gun charges from getting bail.
But he said Ottawa needs to take more action to ban handguns entirely. "If we want to ensure the loopholes in the law are gone, we can. And if we want to come together and try and stop them coming across the border we can. We can choose to. That is the role of the city."
Mr. Miller also called on the Harper government to "get serious with the United States" to block the flow of guns moving north to Toronto.
"We have to say with a strong collective voice that this has to end. It is not acceptable for these U.S. guns to come up here and be used in crimes," he said.
"This is up to the people," he said. "If we want to say no to handguns, we can."
