A man charged with attempted murder after a five-year-old boy was found critically injured near train tracks in Brampton was remanded into custody after a brief court appearance Friday.
The boy was reported missing at around 6 a.m. Thursday after police said his mother went into his room to check on him and discovered he was not there.
Police previously said the boy’s mother also found that the front door to their home, located near McHardy Court and McMurchy Avenue, was open.
About an hour later, police located the boy near train tracks not far from his home.
Paramedics confirmed that the boy had sustained head injuries and was transported to hospital in critical condition.
He was later transferred to Sick Kids Hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition.
By Thursday afternoon, police announced that an arrest had been made in connection with the incident.
According to investigators, Dyon Smart, 28, has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, failing to comply with a recognizance, and breach of a probation order.
Smart was an ex-boyfriend of the child’s mother, a friend of the family told CTV News Toronto.
The Children’s Aid Society has been notified of the incident and Peel Regional Police’s Special Victims Unit is now handling the case.
Smart faced the charges in court on Thursday afternoon and returned again on Friday where a judge ordered he be held in custody.
A CTV News Toronto photojournalist inside the courtroom said the accused spoke quietly with duty council, as his own council was not present.
Outside the young boy’s home in Brampton, candles and a mound of stuffed animals have been laid.
Smart is due to return to court on July 25 for a bail hearing.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to remove identifying information in compliance with a publication ban.
