A teenage boy is dead following a late-night stabbing near Toronto’s Woodbine Park, and investigators are urging “hundreds of people” who were in that area at that time to come forward with information.
The incident occurred at around 10:10 p.m. on Saturday in the city’s Beach area, near Eastern and Coxwell avenues.
Police say paramedics were flagged down at the scene, near a fast food restaurant, and found a victim suffering from a stab wound.
CP24 has learned that he was located inside the McDonald’s, which remains cordoned off with police tape as the investigation continues.
The victim was rushed to a local hospital via emergency run with life-threatening injuries but was later pronounced deceased, Toronto police said.
Speaking with reporters at the scene on Sunday morning, Det. Sgt. Alan Bartlett said he’s limited in the information he can share abut the victim at this point as the investigation is in its early stages.
“He’s a male youth, and that’s all I can say,” Bartlett said.
Police continue to work with the Office of the Coroner to confirm and notify the victim’s next of kin.
Investigators have also not released any suspect descriptions, nor have they announced any arrests.
The circumstances leading up to this fatal stabbing and the motive for it also remain unclear at this time.
‘Hundreds of people’ were in area at time of incident, say police
Bartlett, of the Homicide and Missing Persons Unit, said hundreds of people were in the area at the time of the stabbing and investigators are combing through surveillance footage.
“There is a lot of video from the area,” he said.
“I’m here specifically to appeal to any one of the literally hundreds of people who were present in the area.”
Police are also asking anyone who may have filmed the incident or anyone who may have been involved in it on their phone to contact them.
“If you saw something, if you recorded something on your device, if you know something — please contact the Toronto Police Service,” said Bartlett, who added that the scope of the investigation may widen as officers process evidence.
One man who lives steps away from the scene and asked to not be identified said he feels “just terrible for the (victim’s) family, ”especially since it’s such a young person."
He told CTV News Toronto that there was a massive crowd at the restaurant late last night.
"We could hear a lot of noise. My partner went to walk our dog last night, he said it looked like a block party in the McDonald’s," the area resident said.
Another neighbour called what occurred “awful and horrific,” while another said one would never think that type of thing would happen in the area.
“It’s a pretty calm area,” they said.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact Toronto police or leave an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.
With files from CP24’s Melissa Duggan and CTV News Toronto’s Mike Walker
