Eight teenage girls were charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing of a 59-year-old Toronto street man, known as “Kenney.”
Detective Sergeant Terry Browne said the girls’ ages range from 13 to 16 years old.
Police suspect that the girls met online. Witnesses say they were drinking alcohol in the area.
Investigators are describing the event as a “swarming,” which, according to Browne means they picked a target to victimize and attacked him like wasps.
Sergeant Browne said at a press conference on Tuesday that emergency medical services were alerted on Sunday at about 12:17 am in the York Street and University Area, in the city’s central business district just north of Union Station.
According to the police and witnesses, the teenage girls approached the victim as he was talking with a woman on a bench and drinking alcohol. The motive is unclear but it appears that the girls tried to steal the woman’s booze and “Kenney” defended her. Browne said that the murderous rampage took place over the course of about three minutes.
According to police, the girls were either too stupid or too drunk to leave the crime scene area and were arrested close by. Several police officers detained the girls and numerous weapons were found, according to Detective Browne.
Paramedics brought the man to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, but he died shortly after.
Police believe the girls came together from various parts of the city, but don’t know how or why they chose to meet that night. Investigators also don’t know how long the girls have known each other.
The teenagers appeared in court on Sunday and were brought into custody. They are scheduled to appear in court again on December 29.
One source told The Toronto Sun the girls were ‘like wild animals’.