Eight teen girls stab homeless Toronto man to death as part of swarming social media trend. Man known as Kenney was killed when teenagers sought to steal the man’s alcohol.
Eight teenage girls have been charged with second degree murder after a homeless man came to be stabbed to death on the streets of Toronto, Canada. The man is believed to have died as a result of the teen girls attempt to swarming the man, as part of a social media trend.
The girls – aged between 13 and 16 – assaulted and knifed the 59-year-old man, named locally as Kenney, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Cops don’t believe the girls knew the victim – but think they attacked him to steal his alcohol. He was sitting with a friend when they approached and stabbed him. The victim was confirmed to have died from his wounds in hospital.
The eight girls, who met on social media, were arrested near where the attack happened. Three of the girls are 13 years old, three are 14 and two are 16, according to The Toronto Star.
Local reports told of the victim beginning living in Toronto’s shelter system in September, with authorities unable to reach certain family members.
‘Like wild animals’
Said Detective-Sergeant Terry Browne during a press conference: ‘He does have a very supportive family in the area so I wouldn’t necessarily call him homeless. Maybe just recently on some hard luck.’
Browne said a ‘number of weapons’ were also seized, but he did not provide any further details
One resident of the Strathcona Hotel told CTV News Toronto that the teenagers were drinking, and tried to steal Kenney’s alcohol – a ‘mickey’, or small bottle of liquor.
Browne said Kenney was with a female friend in a plaza northwest of the intersection of University Avenue and York Street when he was attacked: ‘They were sitting on a bench, sipping booze out of a mickey and having a cigarette.’
Told a witness: ‘I saw the aftermath of the attack.’ The teens were ‘standing outside the Union Station stairwell there, arguing, screaming and yelling.’
One police source told The Toronto Sun the girls were ‘like wild animals’.
They said: ‘They’re all young offenders. They attacked this guy like a bunch of wild animals. He tried to fight them off and they just kept coming back. He was just minding his own business, he wasn’t bothering a soul.’
Teenage girl gang formed on social media charged with second-degree murder of homeless manhttps://t.co/iqcdlrende
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) December 21, 2022
Kenney was remembered in the community as friendly and kindly.
Roberto Sanchez, who often holds the door open at a nearby Tim Hortons, told CTV News: ‘He was friendly. He was generous. He was a kind-hearted person. Everyone has their issues. But all in all, I didn’t see him as a threat to no one.
‘For those youths to do that to him — it’s heart-wrenching. I can’t believe it.’
Browne said the crime had even shocked the police.
He added: ‘I’ve been in policing for almost 35 years and you think you’ve seen it all. Anyone who isn’t shocked with hearing something like this has clearly just thrown in the towel and just said that anything is possible in this world.
‘Eight young girls and most under the age of 16. If this isn’t alarming and shocking to everyone, then we’re all in trouble quite frankly.’
This story is chilling in so many ways. Eight girls, all 16 and younger, stabbed to death a homeless man in downtown Toronto. And, it may not have been their first assault. https://t.co/fZgUNivoDc
— sheri elkadem (@sherielk) December 21, 2022
Part of swarming trend posted on social media
Browne said the same girls got into an altercation earlier in the night in the area. He declined to release more details – but confirmed that they had met on social media.
The teens, who have now been charged with murder, came from ‘varying parts of the city.’
He added: ‘We don’t know how or why they met on that evening and why the destination was downtown Toronto. We don’t know how long they were acquainted with each other. I wouldn’t describe them as a gang at this point.’
Browne said they took part in a ‘swarming.’ He declined to say if they videotaped it – and added that they are seeing if similar attacks have been posted online.
The cop said: ‘Maybe these were eight young women that wanted to make a name for themselves and see if they could become socially famous. They are all equally culpable.
‘There is no doubt in our minds that they were all working as a singular entity in a swarming mob mentality when they chose to attack this man.’
He said a number of weapons were seized, but he declined to say what kind. He added that three of the girls had prior encounters with the police.
‘It’s bizarre that they would all have hooked up together and found their way to downtown Toronto. Their primary residences are all over the place. I can tell you it was a shock to find out that their children were involved in an event like this.’
Canadian authorities cannot release the girls’ names by law because they’re underage.
They have made their first court appearance and remain in custody. The next court appearance is December 29.
Browne said they are asking anyone who saw the the group of teens that night to contact police.
He said 20 or 30 years ago in Toronto young teenage boys would swarm others and try to steal Dr. Martens boots or Air Jordan shoes, but the trend faded away.
‘Has this happened recently that we are not aware of? Have people been posting this stuff online that we weren’t aware of?’ he said.
‘It’s something that we are going to try to find out.’
