2 charged with murder after boy, 14, stabbed outside Hamilton high school

Two teens have been charged with first-degree murder after a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death outside of his high school on Monday afternoon in front of his horrified mother.

Police say the teen victim was attacked outside of Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, where he was a student. He was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries.

He has been identified as Devan Selvey of Hamilton.

Two male suspects — an 18-year-old man and a 14-year old boy — both from Hamilton, were located and arrested close to the crime scene shortly after.

They appeared in court on Tuesday morning to answer to first-degree murder charges and were read a list of 26 names they were not allowed to contact. Det.-Sgt. Steve Bereziuk said they expect that list to grow.

A third suspect was also arrested later in the day but was released unconditionally after being questioned by police.

Police were still looking for one male and one female suspect Monday night, and urged them to turn themselves in. In an update on Tuesday, Bereziuk said the two 16-year-old suspects were located and arrested that morning.

However, both teens were released unconditionally on Wednesday.

Bereziuk confirmed the two suspects also attend Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School and said investigators believe there was “some element” of pre-planning in the attack.

The knife used in the attack was found in the area of the homicide scene by Hamilton police Tuesday morning.

A can of pepper spray was located nearby that Bereziuk said may be part of the investigation but could not elaborate further. Evidence on social media may also be part of the investigation, he said.

On Monday night, Bereziuk said the incident was captured on video which police have obtained. They’re also asking people to turn over any other video they have of the incident, such as from security or dashboard cameras.

“There is a relationship between the victim and the suspects,” he said, adding that the nature of the relationship cannot be divulged in order to protect the identity of the suspects as they are youths.

Bereziuk said the victim’s mother was with him when he was fatally attacked but did not know why she was there.

“She’s witnessed something horrible here. She’s devastated.” he said. “It’s a complete disregard for human life.”

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board said the entire community shares in the grief.

“Our hearts are broken by the news that a 14-year-old student has died. There are no words that can begin to describe how shocked we are to learn about this loss,” Manny Figueiredo, the board’s director of education, said in a statement.

“Our thoughts are with the student’s family and loved ones.”

This is Hamilton’s ninth homicide of the year.

With files from The Canadian Press