TORONTO -- The father whose 12-year-old son was shot and killed by a stray bullet in North York in November is speaking out, outraged that a similar thing appears to have happened to another child.
Sebatian Andreatta told CTV News Toronto that hearing about the 14-year-old girl grievously wounded by a bullet last week brought a flood of emotions back — and that he wants to ensure nothing like this happens to a third child.
“It was in shock, I was sad and I was angry at the same time. It’s the same area. It’s happening again,” Andreatta said Tuesday. “We’re living in fear. It shouldn’t be like this.”
Andreatta’s son Dante Andreatta Marroquin was walking with his mom back from doing some shopping to their apartment complex on Stong Court, just north of Jane and Finch on November 7.
That’s when he was struck in the neck by a stray bullet, one of thirty sprayed by gunmen. He died in hospital.
“There’s an emptiness in my heart,” said Andreatta. “It’s very hard.”
Toronto Police arrested and charged three people with first-degree murder: Rashawn Chambers, Jahwayne Smart, and Cjay Hobbs.
But there has been no update from Toronto Police about the case of the 14-year-old girl. A bullet struck her in the head inside her apartment at 25 Stong Court. She was rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition.
CTV News Toronto spoke with the father of the girl, who said she is still in hospital but had opened her eyes. The family, he said, is hoping for a miracle.
Other families were on edge as they picked up their children from a catholic school just across the street from the complex.
“When I heard it the last time, I was so scared,” said parent Evelyn Ibude. “I brought my kids to school today — there’s a risk. It’s not so easy.”
Among the gun control measures announced by the federal government on Tuesday was a law allowing municipalities to ban handguns.
That fell short of the nation-wide ban that some had been pushing for, said Louis March of the Zero Gun Violence Movement.
“Where is the federal government working with the provincial and municipal governments? They are not working together on this,” March said.
Andreatta hasn’t let go of his son. He’s kept many toys, and kept the boy’s room just as it was the day he died.
“I wish I could hug him again. He was beautiful. He was a beautiful boy. I think of him every day,” Andreatta said.
