{UAH} THIS IS WHY SOME OF US ARGUE THAT BANNING GUNS IS NOT A VIOLENCE SOLUTION- Should we ban all the knives now?

Boy, 14, fatally stabbed in front of his mother outside Hamilton school

By Nicole O’ReillyCrime Reporter
Katrina ClarkeStaff Reporter

Mon., Oct. 7, 2019

 

Hamilton Police say a 14-year-old's mother was with him when he was fatally stabbed outside Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School on Monday afternoon.

"She's witnessed something horrible here," said Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk of the Hamilton police major crime unit. "She is devastated."

 

Bereziuk said police responded to a call for a stabbing at 1:20 p.m. on Monday behind the high school at Dunsmure Road and Ivon Avenue. The 14-year-old, a student at the school, was transported to Hamilton General Hospital where he died of his injuries.

 

Police arrested a 14-year-old boy and 19-year-old man not far from the scene, and later arrested a third person. They are looking for two more suspects.

 

"This incident was captured on video," Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk said during a press conference near the scene on Monday evening. "We will identify these people. It's in their best interest to contact, perhaps a lawyer, get some legal advice and then come and see us."

 

Bereziuk said he wouldn't comment on why the victim's mother was in the area when her son when the attack happened near the Main Street East public high school.

 

She was not injured.

The boy's name is not being released, Bereziuk said, noting he hasn't spoken with the family yet.

Police have not yet located a weapon, but are looking for a knife.

A canine officer searches the front lawn of a home on Walter at Dunsmure near Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School.  (John Rennison/The Hamilton Spectator)

 

The victim had a relationship with the suspects, but Bereziuk didn't know the extent of the relationship. Police are not sure how many people were involved in the attack.

"It's been somewhat of a chaotic afternoon, as you can probably imagine," he said.

 

In the neighbourhood where the victim lived, half a dozen people gathered on lawnchairs and front doorsteps to mourn.

 

"I'm scared as a mother, for my son," said a woman named Eva, who did not want to give her last name, saying she was shaken by the incident.

She described the boy who died as "quiet, nice, shy." She last saw him playing on the street Sunday.

"He was laughing," she said.

 

A neighbour passed around a sympathy card for his mother.

The assault temporarily sent the high school, along with W.H. Ballard, Parkdale, Rosedale, Viscount Montgomery and St. Eugene Catholic elementary schools, and nearby daycares into hold and secure — which means all exterior doors are locked but school continues to function as normal. Police said the hold and secures were lifted around 2:40 p.m.

Amanda McKay teared up Monday afternoon waiting outside the school for her daughter, Katelyn, who is in Grade 10.

 

"My kid called me and she's freaked out. Like, she's pretty unflappable," McKay said.

Katelyn was outside when ambulances arrived at the school before a teacher told her to come inside, McKay said.

 

"All I heard was sirens everywhere and then suddenly there was a stretcher coming out," Katelyn said. "You don't ever think this is going to happen."

A police command van remains at the scene at Ivon Avenue and Dunsmure Road.

 

There was a heavy police presence near the school at 1715 Main St. E., west of Parkdale Avenue South, including the canine unit.

Dunsmure Road behind the school remained blocked off from Tolton to Adeline Avenue Monday evening.

 

A bicycle and a black backpack could be seen inside the area taped off by police. A police dog was sniffing through bushes in the area, and nearby on Main Street East, police guarded a driveway blocked off by police tape. An orange aerosol can sat on the driveway.

Bereziuk confirmed police are looking into whether pepper spray was involved in the incident.

 

Debbie Fewer, who lives on Ivon Avenue behind the school, said she heard sirens and later got a call from her neighbour telling her part of the neighbourhood was blocked off by police.

"That breaks my heart," she said upon learning a 14-year-old died. "I feel so, so bad for that family."

 

Her nephew attends the school and her son recently graduated.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board said all communication was being directed by Hamilton police.

 

"Our hearts are broken by the news that a 14-year-old student has died. There are no words that can begin to describe how shocked we are to learn about this loss. Our thoughts are with the student's family and loved ones," read a statement from Manny Figueiredo, director of education.

 

Police are appealing witnesses or anyone with video to contact police at 905-546-4123, or come to the command van at the scene.

To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppershamilton.com.

EM         -> { Trump for 2020 }

On the 49^th Parallel          

                 Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
                    Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika machafuko"