Eight teenage girls have been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing of a 59-year-old man, known as “Kenney,” on a street in Toronto. According to police, the man may have been temporarily homeless, but does have family in the area.
According to Detective Sergeant Terry Browne, the girls’ ages range from 13 to 16 years old.
Police suspect that the girls met online. Witnesses say they were drinking in the area.
Investigators are describing the event as a “swarming,” which, according to Browne means they picked a target to victimize.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Browne said that on Sunday at about 12:17 am a group of people flagged down emergency medical services personnel 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 group of teenage girls approached the victim as he was talking with a woman and drinking alcohol on a bench. The motive is unclear but it appears that they tried to steal his booze. Browne said that the entire incident took place over the course of three minutes.
According to police, the girls were either too stupid or too drunk to leave the area and were arrested near the scene of the crime. Several police officers detained the teenagers and found numerous weapons, according to Browne.
Paramedics brought the man to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and he passed away shortly after.
Police believe the girls came from various parts of the city, but don’t know how or why they met that night. Investigators also don’t know how long the girls have known each other.
The teenagers appeared in court on Sunday at Old City Hall, were put in jail, and are scheduled to appear in court again on December 29.
One source told The Toronto Sun the girls were ‘like wild animals’.