Toronto, Canada – A gang of teen girls were charged with murder after stabbing a homeless man to death over the weekend.
According to Canadian media, the teen girls met on social media and came from various parts of Toronto.
Three 13-year-olds, three 14-year-olds, and two 16-year-olds were charged with second-degree murder on Sunday for swarming then stabbing the homeless man.
The identities of the teens have not been released due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Three of the teens had previous contact with police, according to CBC.
CBC.CA reported:
Eight teenage girls have been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a 59-year-old man in Toronto, police say.
Police have not released the man’s name because his next of kin is still being notified.
Three of the girls are 13 years old, three are 14 years old and two are 16 years old, according to Det.-Sgt. Terry Browne of Toronto police’s homicide unit. None of the girls’ identities can be released under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
At a news conference Tuesday, Browne told reporters a group of people flagged down emergency medical services staff in the York Street and University Area — in the city’s downtown core just north of Union Station — on Sunday around 12:15 a.m.
Police said the group of teen girls allegedly assaulted and stabbed the man. He was taken to hospital by paramedics with life-threatening injuries and died a short time later, police said.
Browne said officers from 52 Division arrested the girls nearby and recovered a number of weapons. Police have not said what those weapons were.
The girls were also involved in an altercation before the stabbing, he said, describing their behaviour as criminal. Police believe the group was in the area at least by 10:30 p.m.
Brown said police wouldn’t describe the girls as a gang at this point, but investigators would call the incident a “swarming.”
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