Police say a 15-year-old boy who was fatally shot inside his North York apartment Monday night was in the company of friends at the time of the shooting.

St. Aubyn Rodney died after he was shot in the stomach at an apartment block on Turf Grassway, near Jane Street and Finch Avenue West at around 10:30 p.m.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested at the scene and has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the case. An 18-year man and a second youth were also taken into custody at the scene and have both been charged with breach of a recognizance.

The 17-year-old charged with manslaughter appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon and was remanded into custody until his next appearance on Feb. 20. He cannot be identified under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

“The deceased was in the company of several of his friends and at some point a firearm was produced and the deceased was shot,” Det. Mike Carbone told reporters Wednesday afternoon during a news conference. “Due to the ongoing criminal investigation I cannot comment any further as to the specifics of what we have discovered to date.”

Carbone would not comment on whether Rodney’s death could have been accidental, saying only that police believe an “unlawful act” played a part in his death.

“We are still in the process of interviewing witnesses and my appeal here today is to look for more,” he said. “I don’t want to taint whatever result we get as a result of reaching out to the media.”

Group calls for additional support for youth

In response to the teen’s death, Knia Singh, a member of the African Canadian Coalition of Community Organizations, is repeating his group’s calls for a stop to violence and increased support for at-risk youth and families.

“This is an African Canadian young male issue and it hasn’t been defined as such,” Singh told CP24 on Wednesday.

Singh wants governments to provide more funding for street-level organizations to improve intervention efforts for African-Canadian youth and provide additional support for parents, and to include his group in the discussion.

“We’re not being consulted when it comes to new projects rolling out … and that’s a problem because we feel that we have a lot of solutions to the problem,” Singh said.

Singh said intervention is possible with additional resources for groups that try to keep at-risk youth out of trouble.

“It is never too late to reach anybody,” he said. “If they’re on the wrong path, with the proper mentorship, guidance, opportunities and consistent presence they’re able to turn their lives around. But once you pull the support system away and there’s nobody to rely on they’re going to go a different path. It’s just human nature.”

Politicians are also weighing in on what must be done.

City Coun. Josh Matlow said he has been preparing a youth anti-violence strategy for weeks.

“I was actually hoping to bring (the recommendations) forward at a time that wasn’t in the aftermath of another tragedy because we need to have a focused conversation rather than an emotional one,” Matlow said. “But it’s hard to find that window. It keeps happening over and over again.

“It’s not isolated to any one neighbourhood or any one community in our city,” Matlow said. “We need to treat this issue like it’s happening on the street that we live on because it will affect us eventually in some way in some form. These are our kids and we’ve got to address it.”

Matlow said his recommendations were previously suggested in the 2008 Roots of Youth Violence report.

He wants the city to create an “interdivisional” body at city hall to work on prevention efforts, draft an anti-racism plan, and create sports, arts and employment opportunities.

With files from CP24 reporters Cam Woolley and Sue Sgambati

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