Another “swarming” occurred this week in Toronto, with four 13-year-old teenage boys being charged with assault after an alleged attack against uniformed employees of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).
The TTC posted on Twitter that the alleged assault that started inside a bus in Scarborough, Ontario, was a “despicable swarming.”
Swarming involves a group of individuals “working as a singular entity in a swarming mob mentality,” Toronto Police Homicide Detective Sergeant Terry Browne explained on Dec. 21 at a news conference. Toronto police did not immediately return calls for comment.
Eight females aged 13 to 16 have been charged with the second-degree murder of Ken Lee, 59. The youth are accused of allegedly beating and stabbing Lee to death in a swarm on Dec. 18, 2022, reportedly to steal his bottle of alcohol.
Browne told reporters this sort of crime was rare for females in this age group. However, swarming-style attacks have been happening in Canada since the 1980s, according to reports.
On Jan. 19, Calgary police announced they had charged six teenage boys, aged 15 to 17, with one count of assault each, and one count of aggravated assault each, in a swarming attack against two drug store employees that occurred in November 2022.The attack caused “significant injuries” and police said they expected to charge two more youths.
