A 14-year-old boy has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of an elderly woman who police say was randomly stabbed in broad daylight outside her home in Pickering on Thursday afternoon.
The stabbing, which investigators have described as unprovoked, occurred at around 3 p.m. on Thursday on a quiet street in Pickering, east of Toronto.
Police told reporters Thursday that the victim was outside her home on on Lynn Heights Drive when she was approached by a male they believe she did not know.
“After a brief interaction, the suspect stabbed the female in a sadistic and cowardly, unprovoked attack that was captured on video,” Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira said Thursday.
She was rushed to a trauma centre for treatment but later died from her injuries.
Residents in Pickering were ordered to shelter-in-place immediately following the deadly attack as police searched for the perpetrator.
Community safety concerns also prompted the City of Pickering to shutter its facilities and cancel programs and classes on Thursday evening.
After an hours-long search, the alleged perpetrator was located and arrested without incident at 8:30 p.m., police said.
The accused, who was charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act during a brief court appearance on Friday morning, cannot be identified but investigators say he is also a resident of Pickering.
Neighbours of the victim, who say they are “shaken” by the disturbing incident, described the woman as a friendly, retired kindergarten teacher in her 80s. Some said they believed she was out gardening at the time of the attack.
One neighbour called the victim a “fantastic lady” who had lived in the area for decades.
“It is just sad. Very sad,” Shedia Serrao-Fredericks told CP24 on Friday morning.
“We see how she takes care of her husband. We know that he is ill.”
Police said the family has asked investigators not to publicly identify the victim.
‘He stood out’
During an update on Friday morning, Sgt. Joanne McCabe said police have yet to find anything connecting the victim to the suspect prior to the attack.
McCabe confirmed that investigators are looking into reports about security camera footage that appears to show the suspect in the area days before the attack.
“We are aware of some reports that he was seen in the area. Any connection to this area and any connection to this victim, we are still looking at,” McCabe said.
“As of right now, I can still tell you this appears to be a random attack.”
Serrao-Fredericks said shortly before the fatal stabbing, both she and her daughter spotted a strange person walking in the area who was wearing black gloves and a trench coat.
“He stood out,” she said.
“It is not normal at 2:30 or whatever time it was in the afternoon to be dressed like that.”
Prior to the arrest, police said the suspect was seen wearing a surgical mask, a long, black jacket and was carrying a black bag.
Serrao-Fredericks said the incident has left her family feeling “shaken.”
“Our neighbourhood, we’ve never had something like that happen here,” she said.
“I spend most of my time outside doing gardening. How would I go out there now?”
McCabe said there were reports that some members of the community did step in to try to help the victim in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
“To them we say thank you and we appreciate their efforts, the family appreciates their efforts,” she said. “This is something that is going to impact this community for a very long time.”
With files from CP24’s Joanna Lavoie and Courtney Heels
