TORONTO — A 14-year-old boy ran up behind a student at an east-end Toronto school and fatally shot him at point blank range, police said Tuesday, describing the incident as "an execution."
The teen then "attempted to do the same" to another student, but the gun didn't go off, homicide Insp. Hank Idsinga said in a news conference. He added it's not yet clear why the gun didn't fire that time.
"When I was first updated with the murder information yesterday, it was described to me as an execution. I've seen the video which captures the murder, and that's exactly how I would describe it," Idsinga said.
The 14-year-old then ran off but was arrested hours later as he was heading to turn himself in, the inspector said. The teen faces one count of first-degree murder and another of attempted murder.
Police identified the victim as Jahiem Robinson, 18.
Investigators previously said the shooting was targeted but Idsinga declined to comment on a possible motive Tuesday, saying the investigation is still in its early stages. But he said the accused and Robinson interacted with each other before the shooting.
"There was some interaction with them earlier, prior to the shooting, but not immediately before the shooting," he said.
Outside a community centre where counselling was being offered to staff and students, Toronto Mayor John Tory said the age of the accused shooter struck him.
"I have a 14-year-old grandson and the whole notion that anybody of that age can have a gun, put it in their pocket and take it to school and use it, to me is inconceivable," he said.
Tory also said there must be a better way to deal with the prevalence of guns on Toronto's streets.
"I'm hearing about this from police at every police board meeting about how there are guns, most of which are coming from the United States," Tory said, reiterating he is in favour of a national handgun ban.
"I think there has to be a way in which we can do better at stopping those guns from coming in here."
Deputy police chief Myron Demkiw said Monday's shooting is part of a troubling rise in youth gun violence and homicides.
This year alone, 1/3 of the city's homicides have involved victims or accused people under the age of 20, and two involved some under the age of 15, he said.
"This fact is disturbing and demands that something must change," he said.
"There is no rational explanation for why a 13-, 14- or 15-year-old child should have access to illegal firearms, let alone feel compelled to use them."
Between 2015 and 2020, the average age of those involved in gun violence was 25, but it dropped to 20 last year, he added.
In October, a 15-year-old girl was charged with first-degree murder in a shooting that killed a 16-year-old boy in July.
Monday's shooting took place around 3 p.m. at David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute, police said.
Tactical officers swept through the school, but did not find the accused boy or a gun at the time, Insp. Richard Harris said Monday. Police said in a statement Tuesday they arrested the boy just before 7 p.m.
The accused cannot be named due to provisions under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The Toronto District School Board said it has launched its own investigation into the incident.
"An incident like this raises questions about how something like this can happen inside a school," Colleen Russell-Rawlins, director of education at the board, said in a written statement Monday.
She said the board will help the homicide squad's investigation as well as conduct their own probe. There are 16 cameras inside the school that could help the investigations, the board said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2022.
Paola Loriggio and Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
