Killing of Ken Lee

Last updated
Killing of Ken Lee
Front and York Streets Toronto.jpg
The intersection of York Street, University Avenue and Front Street
Killing of Ken Lee
LocationYork Street, Toronto, Canada
Coordinates 43°38′47″N79°22′58″W / 43.646319°N 79.382889°W / 43.646319; -79.382889
DateDecember 18, 2022
12:17 am (EST)
Attack type
 Stabbing
Deaths1
Victims1
No. of participants
8

Ken Lee, a 59-year-old man, was fatally stabbed outside the Strathcona Hotel, on York Street, Toronto, at 12:17 am on December 18, 2022. Eight teenage girls were charged with his murder.

Contents

The alleged perpetrators are suspected of two prior violent incidents also in downtown Toronto the same evening and are understood by police to have associated via social media, but to have not met in person prior to the evening of the attack.

Background

The eight suspects, according to Toronto Police Service, were engaged in two violent incidents in the hours prior to Lee's stabbing, one at St. Andrew subway station and another at the intersection of York Street, Front Street and University Avenue. [1]

Earlier in 2022, similar thefts that were also described as swarming attacks by police occurred in the same area of Toronto. [2]

Stabbing

The stabbing occurred at 12:17 am [3] on December 18, 2022 in downtown Toronto, [4] outside the Strathcona Hotel, [2] on the corner of York Street and University Avenue, [5] near both Union Station [1] and the Royal York Hotel. [5] Strathcona Hotel was used as a shelter for homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic. [2]

Toronto Police Service reported that eight teenagers allegedly swarmed Lee over a three-minute period, repeatedly stabbing him. [4] The incident occurred hours before the nearby Vaughan shooting. [4] Bystanders summoned emergency services [4] to just north of Union Station. Lee was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died. [6]

Various weapons were found by police near the location of the stabbing. [7]

A witness told CBC News that she was with Lee prior to the attack and that the teenage girls attempted to steal her alcoholic beverage, before Lee tried to protect her from the teenagers. [6]

Victim

Ken Lee, aged 59, [8] was staying in a nearby homeless shelter. [4] Witnesses told CTV News that Lee was visiting a friend who was living at the Strathcona Hotel shelter. [9] [10]

Police said that Lee was holding a liquor bottle at the time of the attack and that the theft of the alcoholic beverage was likely a motive for the attack. [11] Police also said they do not believe the victim knew any of the attackers. [11]

Lee lived in Toronto and was an immigrant from Hong Kong. [3]

Suspects

Old City Hall court Old City Hall, Toronto (council chamber).jpg
Old City Hall court

Eight girls aged between 13 and 16 years were arrested near the location of the stabbing just after midnight on the day of the attack. [4] Three of the suspects were aged 13, three were 14, and two were 16. [4]

According to police, the alleged perpetrators all lived in different parts of Toronto and had only met online via social media, not in person, prior to the day of the attack. [4] [12] The girls lived in locations that included Scarborough, Etobicoke, downtown Toronto, and in the part of the 905 belt west of Toronto. [1]

Aftermath

Each of the accused appeared at the Old City Hall court on the day that they were arrested. [7] They were later each charged with second-degree murder on December 20. [12] At a December 29 court hearing one girl was released on bail. [13] The other seven appeared in court on January 5, 2023 via video link. [14] A television news report by CTV News reported that "only two parents of the seven co-accused appeared to be in attendance for virtual proceedings on Zoom" and that some of the suspects seemed confused, with one of their lawyers not present during an accused's questioning. [14] By February 13 2023, five of the suspects were released from detention on bail, while three remained detained. [15]

Tracy Vaillancourt, a Canada Research Chair in children’s mental health and violence prevention, noting the gender and age of the suspects, described it as atypical for adolescent girls to be involved in an event that could result in a charge of murder. [1]

Toronto Mayor John Tory said he was "deeply disturbed" by the killing. [16] Police Detective Sergeant Terry Browne said "I've been in policing for almost 35 years and you think you've seen it all...If this isn't alarming and shocking to everyone, then we're all in trouble quite frankly." [16]

Lee's family were critical of how the Youth Criminal Justice Act protected the identities of the eight accused child suspects. [17]

Slightly over a year after the killing of Ken Lee, one of the eight suspects, now aged 14, was charged with allegedly stabbing a 52-year-old passenger by the exit of Wilson station in the course of an altercation. Her bail for the 2022 charges, [18] was then revoked and she was returned to custody; later in February, the Youth Court ordered the girl transferred to an open custody centre. The reasons for the move could not be reported under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, but her attorney was quoted criticising strip searches at closed youth facilities. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Boxing Day shooting was a Canadian gang-related shooting which occurred on December 26, 2005, on Toronto's Yonge Street, resulting in the death of 15-year-old student Jane Creba. Six other bystanders—four men and two women—were wounded. The incident took place on one of Toronto's most crowded streets on the very busy shopping day, just a few blocks north of the Toronto Eaton Centre. The story generated national news coverage in Canada and influenced the then-underway 2006 federal election campaign on the issues of gun crime and street violence.

Ramon Ocasio III is a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, first elected in 2006 from the 6th Judicial Subcircuit. The 6th Judicial Subcircuit is located in Chicago's north side.

Aqsa "Axa" Parvez was the victim of a murder in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. During the murder trial, Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno acknowledged the slaying as an honour killing, stating, that he found it "profoundly disturbing that a 16-year-old could be murdered by a father and brother for the purpose of saving family pride, for saving them from what they perceived as family embarrassment". Aqsa's brother, Waqas, had strangled her. Aqsa's death was reported internationally and sparked a debate about the status of women in Islam. The Toronto Star stated that the father's perception of himself being unable to influence his daughter's behavior was a major factor in the death, and that "Media in Toronto and around the world immediately reported and continues to report that Aqsa was killed because she refused to wear the hijab. But it was much more complicated than that."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of violence against LGBT people in the United States</span>

The history of violence against LGBT people in the United States is made up of assaults on gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender individuals (LGBT), legal responses to such violence, and hate crime statistics in the United States of America. The people who are the targets of such violence are believed to violate heteronormative rules and they are also believed to contravene perceived protocols of gender and sexual roles. People who are perceived to be LGBT may also be targeted for violence. Violence can also occur between couples who are of the same sex, with statistics showing that violence among female same-sex couples is more common than it is among couples of the opposite sex, but male same-sex violence is less common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Sammy Yatim</span> Police shooting

The death of Sammy Yatim occurred early in the morning of July 27, 2013, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Yatim, an 18-year-old Toronto male armed with a switchblade knife, was shot at nine times, and was hit by eight of the shots fired by 30-year-old Toronto Police Service (TPS) officer James Forcillo. After being shot, while lying on the floor of the streetcar he was tasered. He later died from the injuries. The incident occurred after Yatim, brandishing a 12 cm (4.7 in) switchblade knife in a Toronto streetcar, advanced on a passenger, threatened other passengers, and exposed himself. The confrontation between Yatim and the police was recorded and footage of it was released publicly, prompting strong reactions across Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CeCe Moore</span> American genetic genealogist (born 1969)

CeCe Moore is an American genetic genealogist who has been described as the country's foremost such entrepreneur. She has appeared on many TV shows and worked as a genetic genealogy researcher for others such as Finding Your Roots. She has reportedly helped law enforcement agencies in identifying suspects in over 300 cold cases using DNA and genetic genealogy. In May 2020, she began appearing in a prime time ABC television series called The Genetic Detective in which each episode recounts a cold case she helped solve. In addition to her television work, she is known for pioneering the genetic genealogy methodologies used by adoptees and others of unknown origin for identifying biological family.

On May 31, 2014, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States, two 12-year-old girls, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, lured their friend Payton Leutner into a wooded area of a local park and stabbed her 19 times to appease the fictional character Slender Man. Weier and Geyser were both found not guilty by mental disease or defect and committed to mental health institutions. Weier received a sentence of 25 years to life and Geyser was sentenced to 40 years to life. After seven years in custody, Weier was granted early release and will be under supervision until age 37.

In January 2017, four perpetrators: Jordan Hill, Tesfaye "Teefies" Cooper, and Brittany and Tanishia Covington committed a hate crime and other offenses against a mentally disabled man in Chicago, Illinois. The attackers, two men and two women, laughed as they kidnapped and physically, verbally, and racially abused the victim. The incident was livestreamed on Facebook.

On March 20, 2017, Timothy Caughman, a black 66-year-old man, was collecting cans for recycling in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City when James Harris Jackson, a white 28-year-old man, approached him and stabbed him multiple times with a sword. Caughman later died of his injuries. Jackson subsequently turned himself in to police custody and confirmed that he traveled from Maryland to New York with the intention of killing black men in order to prevent white women from having interracial relationships with them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Portland train attack</span> Racially-motivated harassment and stabbing on a train in Portland, Oregon

On May 26, 2017, Jeremy Joseph Christian fatally stabbed two men and injured a third after he was confronted for shouting racist and anti-Muslim slurs at two black teenagers, Destinee Mangum and Walia Mohamed, on a MAX Light Rail train in Portland, Oregon. Two of the victims, Ricky John Best of Happy Valley and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche of Portland, were killed; the third victim, Micah David-Cole Fletcher, survived with serious wounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop International Airport attack</span> 2017 stabbing in Flint, Michigan, US

On June 21, 2017, Airport Police Lieutenant Jeff Neville was stabbed in the neck at Bishop International Airport in the city of Flint, Michigan, in the United States. The assailant, Amor Ftouhi, yelled, "Allahu akbar" during the attack. Ftouhi was travelling on a Canadian passport. Numerous law enforcement agencies responded and the airport was evacuated. Bomb sniffing dogs searched the evacuated airport for evidence of a larger-scale attack, but found nothing. Ftouhi was charged with committing violence at an international airport and interfering with airport security. He was later charged with committing an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. He was found guilty of all three charges in November 2018, and was sentenced to life in federal prison in April 2019.

Tess Richey was a Canadian woman who was killed after a Friday night out with a friend in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto. Four days after she had disappeared, her body was discovered by her mother at the bottom of an outdoor stairwell two houses from where she was last seen. A homicide investigation led to the arrest of Kalen Schlatter, who has been convicted of first-degree murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Tessa Majors</span> Murder of a college student in New York City

The murder of Tessa Majors occurred near Morningside Park in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, on December 11, 2019. Majors, an eighteen-year-old student at Barnard College, was attacked and stabbed by three teenagers as part of a robbery. Majors was discovered collapsed and bleeding on a staircase exiting Morningside Park and transported to a nearby hospital, ultimately succumbing to the injuries.

On the night of December 28, 2019, the seventh night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, a masked man wielding a large knife or machete invaded the home of a Hasidic rabbi in Monsey, Rockland County, New York, where a Hanukkah party was underway, and began stabbing the guests. Five men were wounded, two of whom were hospitalized in critical condition. Party guests forced the assailant to flee by wielding chairs and a small table. Three months after the stabbing, the most severely injured stabbing victim, Rabbi Josef Neumann, aged 72, died of his wounds.

The Toronto machete attack was a misogynist terrorist attack in a Toronto erotic spa on 24 February 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Reading stabbings</span> Stabbing attack in Reading, England

On 20 June 2020, shortly before 19:00 BST, a man with a knife attacked people who were socialising in Forbury Gardens, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom. Three men died from their wounds, and three other people were seriously injured. A 25-year-old Libyan male refugee named Khairi Saadallah was arrested nearby shortly afterwards. Saadallah was a former member of the Libyan militant group Ansar al-Sharia. He was charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder; he pleaded guilty. In January 2021, Saadallah was sentenced to a whole-life term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August 2021 Tokyo stabbings</span> 2021 mass stabbing incident in Tokyo, Japan

A mass stabbing incident occurred 6 August 2021, on a commuter train in the Odakyu Electric Railway in Tokyo, Japan. 10 people were injured in the incident.

On September 4, 2022, Myles Sanderson killed 11 and injured 18 people in a mass stabbing at 13 locations on the James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Some of the victims are believed to have been targeted, while others were randomly attacked. It is one of the deadliest massacres in Canadian history.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Powell, Betsy (2022-12-21). "Teens who allegedly stabbed homeless man may have been involved in other violent incidents that night". The Star. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  2. 1 2 3 Isai, Vjosa; Onishi, Norimitsu (2022-12-21). "8 Teenage Girls Charged With Killing a Toronto Man" . The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  3. 1 2 Tsekouras, Phil (2023-01-10). "Ken Lee identified as victim of alleged stabbing attack by 8 teen girls in Toronto". CTV News Toronto. Archived from the original on 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Toronto: Eight teenage girls charged with deadly stabbing". BBC News. 2022-12-21. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  5. 1 2 Freeze, Colin; Bielski, Zosia (2022-12-22). "Homeless man in fatal Toronto stabbing was a 'father and grandfather,' acquaintance says". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  6. 1 2 Draaisma, Muriel (20 Dec 2022). "8 teen girls charged with murder in Toronto man's swarming death". CBC. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  7. 1 2 Pagliaro, Jennifer; Gibson, Victoria (2022-12-20). "Eight teenage girls charged in 'swarming' fatal attack of 59-year-old homeless man". The Star. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  8. ↑ "Ken Lee, 59, identified as victim of alleged 'swarming' attack by teen girls in Toronto". CBC. 10 Jan 2023. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Woodward, Jon (2022-12-18). "Downtown Toronto stabbing escalated after dispute over liquor: witnesses". CTV News Toronto. Archived from the original on 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  10. ↑ Hunter, Brad (2022-12-20). "HUNTER: Cops say alleged teen-girl killers swarmed victim 'like animals'". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 2022-12-20. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  11. 1 2 Freeze, Colin (2022-12-20). "Eight teen girls charged with second-degree murder in stabbing death of homeless man". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  12. 1 2 Newton, Amanda; Musa, Paula (2022-12-21). "8 teenage girls charged with second-degree murder in fatal stabbing of Toronto man". CNN. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  13. ↑ Skjerven, Kelly (2022-12-29). "One of 8 girls charged in stabbing of homeless man in Toronto granted bail". The Star. Archived from the original on 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  14. 1 2 Brennan, Andrew (2023-01-05). "Bail hearing dates set for some teens charged in death of Toronto homeless man". CTV News Toronto. Archived from the original on 2023-01-08. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  15. ↑ "Fifth teen charged in Toronto man's death granted bail, three remain in custody". CTV News Toronto. 2023-02-13. Archived from the original on 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  16. 1 2 Drenon, Brandon (2023-01-11). "Police identify Toronto man allegedly stabbed to death by teen girls". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  17. ↑ Cecco, Leyland (2023-01-20). "Family of Toronto man allegedly killed by teen girls criticizes law keeping identities secret". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  18. ↑ Warmington, Joe (2024-02-16). "Girl, 14, charged in TTC stabbing while on bail for deadly 2022 swarming". The Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  19. ↑ Mandel, Michele (2024-02-27). "Transfer granted to teen arrested for stabbing while on bail for murder". The Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.