By Canadian Press

Police investigate whether girls’ alleged subway assaults related to fatal stabbing

Jan 12, 2023 | 10:30 AM

Toronto police have not confirmed whether a group of teen girls who allegedly assaulted several people at public transit stations is the same one that allegedly stabbed a homeless man in the downtown core.

Police are investigating after a group of eight to 10 girls allegedly assaulted several people on Dec. 17 between 10 p.m. and midnight at five downtown Toronto subway stations.

They said the alleged assaults were “random” and they are looking for victims. 

Const. Caroline de Kloet said the investigation into the subway assaults is separate from a probe involving eight teenage girls who allegedly fatally stabbed a homeless man on the same night. 

“We have put the release out, in hopes that victims come forward to police,” she said in a statement Thursday. “We have not confirmed whether or not it is the same group of girls.”

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Three 13-year-olds, three 14-year-olds and two 16-year-olds are facing second-degree murder in the death of the homeless man. 

The stabbing victim was identified this week as 59-year-old Ken Lee and police said he had moved into the city’s shelter system in recent months.

Police have said they believe the teens in that case congregated after meeting on social media and are from homes across the Greater Toronto Area.

While it’s not known why these girls met up that night, Kaitlynn Mendes, a professor of sociology at Western University, said young people are generally struggling right now due to social and economic impacts of the pandemic.

“There’s a lot of, maybe, isolation, loneliness. People are having mental health issues, maybe feeling disconnected from society, maybe they’re feeling bored,” she said. “It’s really hard to know exactly why these people are engaging in these acts without actually speaking to them.”

Social media platforms have helped strangers meet in real life to organize protests around the world including the Arab Spring uprisings, she said, and they have also been recently used by some people to connect with others who are interested in violence.

“What we’re seeing is that digital technologies are just being used for more nefarious purposes rather than maybe some of the more hopeful or kind of positive purposes that we were initially seeing,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2023.

The Canadian Press