Teen gets bail after he pleads guilty to charges in mass Etobicoke shooting in June last year
The boy, who was 14 at the time of the shooting but is now 16, was facing two first-degree murder charges and seven attempted murder charges in the shooting on June 2, 2024 in the parking lot of North Albion Collegiate Institute, a high school near the corner of Mount Olive Drive and Kipling Avenue.
The murder and attempted murder charges were stayed Monday.
Crown prosecutors stayed the charges against the teen, stating there there wasn't enough evidence at this time to support a reasonable prospect of conviction.
Delroy 'George' Parkes, 61, and Seymour Gibbs, 46, died as a result of the shooting. Parkes died upon arrival at the hospital, while Gibbs died in hospital two days later.
The boy, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to the shooting, possession of a loaded restricted firearm without authorization and possession of stolen property over $5,000.
Suspects arrived in stolen pickup truck, court hears
According to an agreed statement of facts read in court, a stolen dark grey Ford F-150 pickup carrying three people arrived at the high school parking lot at about 10:55 p.m. that night. A group of people were socializing in the lot and playing dominoes.
Two people exited the pickup and one started shooting, firing 23 rounds at the group. Five men were hit.
Parkes and Gibbs were fatally shot. One man was shot several times on the left side of his torso, required emergency surgery and spent several days in hospital. Another man suffered a gunshot wound to his back. And a third man suffered a gunshot wound to his left thigh. He was discharged from hospital the next day.
Three other men were present but not injured.
The two people returned to the vehicle and fled the scene, parking the truck about five minutes later on Amoro Drive.
Teen took Uber to pick up truck later, court hears
According to the statement, the teen took an Uber to pick up the truck about an hour and 45 minutes later, carrying a loaded firearm in his waistband.
The statement said the teen said "he had a suspicion that he may be assisting the people involved in the shooting at North Albion Collegiate by moving evidence of the crime."
He admitted he was "willfully blind to the fact the F150 truck in his possession was stolen property."
He also admitted "he made a conscious decision not to make inquiries that would confirm his suspicion, and that he was therefore willfully blind to his participation as an accessory after the fact to the shooting at North Albion Collegiate."
Toronto police saw the teen driving the vehicle soon after and went after it. The teen crashed the truck into a parked car, took off on foot and ignored a police command to stop, the statement said.
He ran past St. Benedict Catholic Elementary School and threw the firearm onto a school portable roof and was arrested shortly afterwards.
A person found the gun the next day and reported it to police. Investigators determined that the gun was not linked to the shooting in the parking lot.
His next court date is set for October 7, 2025.
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