A 12-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man have been charged in connection with an attack involving a hammer that led to the death of a homeless man, as well as a string of violent robberies in downtown Toronto late last month.
“Unprovoked, they began violently beating this male,” McCabe said, noting that one of the suspects was allegedly “armed with a hammer.”
The pair fled the area and the victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries and was later released, McCabe said. The victim was found dead outside on Sept. 4, and police later determined he had succumbed to his injuries from the attack.
The man’s identity has not been released because police are still working to find and notify his next-of-kin.
The incident was one in a series of five “violent” attacks that took place that morning in Toronto’s downtown, McCabe said. Two of these attacks also “targeted” homeless individuals, and the remaining two attacks were against men carrying cellphones that police say the suspects attempted to steal.
The first assault occurred at 5:45 a.m. in the area of Yonge Street and Dundas Street, when two suspects approached a homeless man and began to “violently” beat him, McCabe said. The victim was able to escape and the suspects continued walking west on Dundas Street until they encountered a 70-year-old homeless man at 5:52 a.m., and began assaulting him.
The second man was also able to escape and was taken to hospital with serious injuries, she said.
The suspects proceeded west to Nathan Phillips Square, where they allegedly assaulted the 62-year-old victim who later died from his injuries.
After this assault, the suspects walked toward Yonge Street and Gerrard Street where they asked an elderly man if they could use his phone, McCabe said.
“They grabbed his phone, and when he tried to get it back, he was pushed to the ground,” she said.
The last assault took place in the Yonge Street and College Street area just after 8 a.m., when a second man was asked by the suspects if they could use his phone. When the man refused, the suspects knocked the phone from his grasp and threw an object at him, McCabe said.
Two males were arrested shortly afterward by two officers who were in the area, she said.
Investigators also believe more people may have been approached by the suspects on the morning of the alleged attacks, McCabe said, and asked anyone with information to contact police.
Charged in connection with the string of attacks is 20-year-old Isaiah Byers of Toronto. He faces one count of second degree murder, three counts of robbery, two counts of assault with a weapon, and one count of aggravated assault.
The 12-year-old boy who was arrested in relation to the case faces one count of second degree murder, four counts of robbery, two counts of assault with a weapon, and one count of aggravated assault. His name cannot be released under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Crimes Involving Youth on Rise
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw spoke out about the increase in the number of teens involved in violent crime over the past two years during a recent press conference.“We’ve had 13 young people charged in murder investigations this year in our city. That’s very alarming,” he said during a Sept. 10 news conference to announce charges against teens linked to the Aug. 16 shooting death of 8-year-old JahVai Roy.
A 17-year-old youth and an 18-year-old who was 17 at time of offence are both wanted on charges of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting. Warrants were issued for their arrests last week. The teens’ names cannot be released under the Youth Justice Criminal Act. Police said both are from Toronto.
Deputy Chief Rob Johnson commented on the issue during the Sept. 15 press conference, calling the spike in youth involvement in major crimes “concerning.”
“This is really a call to action with all our community partners to make sure that we find a way to intervene when young people are involved with these types of horrendous crimes,” Johnson said. “If you look at the last little while, young people have been charged with carjackings, home invasions, all types of serious crimes. So we are obviously concerned with this trend.”
Johnson said police are working with community partners to address the issue but are also reaching out to all levels of government to find solutions.
“We can have some reform in areas of bail reform, maybe even the Youth Criminal Justice Act,” he said. “There are a bunch of things that are on the table right now for discussion, because it is concerning, certainly within our community, here in Toronto, but also right across the GTA and even nationally.”
