‘Execution’: Boy, 14, charged in fatal shooting of student at Scarborough high school
Posted February 15, 2022 12:03 pm.
Last Updated February 16, 2022 5:45 am.
Wednesday marks another day of virtual learning for the grieving students at a Scarborough high school rocked by a fatal shooting.
Toronto police say a 14-year-old boy ran up behind an 18-year-old student and shot him “execution” style at David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute on Monday.
The victim, identified as Jahiem Robinson (pictured below), was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect then tried to shoot another student, police allege, but for reasons unknown, the gun failed to fire.
Hours later on Monday night, police say the young suspect was arrested while he was on his way to turn himself in at 41 Division. He’s since been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder and made a court appearance on Tuesday morning.
Homicide Inspector Hank Idsinga confirmed that both the suspect and victim were students at the school, and said they had a brief interaction shortly before the fatal shooting.
“It was described to me as an execution,” Idsinga said during an update Tuesday afternoon.
“I’ve seen the video which captures the murder and that’s exactly how I would describe it, with the suspect running up behind the victim and shooting him at point-blank range, and then an attempt to do the same to a second victim.”
Idsinga said the weapon has not been recovered and he couldn’t confirm that it jammed, but said for reasons unknown it did not fire despite an apparent attempt to shoot a second victim.
Jahiem Robinson, 18, was shot and killed at David and Mary Thomson Collegiate in Toronto on Feb. 14, 2022. HANDOUT/Toronto Police Service
Deputy Chief, Myron Demkiw, called the case “disturbing” but said police are becoming accustomed to seeing younger and younger perpetrators, and victims, of gun crime in Toronto.
“There is no rational explanation for why a 13, 14, or 15-year-old child should have access to illegal firearms, let alone feel compelled to use them,” he said.
Demkiw said this year, a third of homicides involved victims or suspects under the age of 20, with two accused killers under 15 years old.
Earlier Tuesday, Mayor John Tory expressed dismay after learning of the suspect’s age.
“How could it be that a 14-year-old first of all could have a gun? How could it be that the 14-year-old decides to take the gun to school? How could it be that the 14-year-old decides to use the gun?
“These are all questions that aren’t just superficial questions,” he said. “They are deep, complicated questions that we have to start to coming to grips with.”
Tory expressed his sympathies for the families involved, as well as the entire community.
“These things have an impact that is hard to describe,” he said. “It cuts deep and it takes a long time for these kinds of things to heal.”
On Monday, a student at the school described the chaotic scene after the shooting, saying teachers and staff were frantically instructing people to evacuate the building.
“My main thought [at the time] was I can’t believe this is happening,” the Grade 12 student explained. “It was pretty scary. I didn’t want anybody to get hurt.”
The Toronto District School Board said the school was closed Tuesday and will remain closed on Wednesday in favour of remote learning. Grief counsellors will remain available at the nearby McGregor Park Community Centre.
There are two GoFundMe accounts for the victim’s family, one from a former student and the other from the victim’s aunt. The former student says they’re not associated with the family, but they wanted to help them.
With files from Lucas Casaletto
