One day after Hamid Aminzada was fatally stabbed at his Etobicoke high school while trying to break up a fight, a picture of the teen is emerging as someone who was always willing to help out his family.

The 19-year-old student was slashed in the face and stabbed in the abdomen in the hallway of North Albion Collegiate Institute (NACI) at approximately 12:20 p.m. on Tuesday. Police say he was trying to defuse a fight between two other students. A 17-year-old male suspect has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing.

Investigators say he turned himself in to police with a lawyer at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. He has not been named by police.

Aminzada was found without vital signs at the scene of the stabbing, but was revived by first responders and taken to hospital. He later died of his injuries.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday afternoon, his father Sabir Aminzada described his son as a “great” man who was always ready to help out.

"He was a great son. He was a very hard-working son," Sabir's cousin, Zahir Sadat, who translated for him, told reporters. “He was helping out at home – his mother, his aunt, his uncle."

Aminzada’s principal, Naeem Siddiq, also described him as an exemplary student and a “gentleman.”

He said students at his school are shocked about the tragic death and are planning a vigil to remember him.

“(We) are a family that’s grieving together,” he told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Aminzada and his family arrived in Canada approximately two years ago. He was a student in NACI’s English as a Second Language Program, and was also taking regular courses at the school.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, police said Aminzada intervened to "defuse" a situation between two other students. Investigators say there had been an ongoing dispute between two other students at the school, which led to the confrontation in the hallway.

NACI -- located on Kipling Avenue north of Finch Avenue West -- was placed under a hold and secure status after the stabbing.

A message on the Toronto District School Board website said NACI is open on Wednesday as police have “concluded their investigation inside the school.” Social workers were expected to be on site.

The suspect was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

No metal detectors

At a news conference Wednesday morning, TDSB director of education Donna Quan said that the board has no plans to install metal detectors in the city’s schools.

"(We) have technical support in terms of cameras….We are not a system that will put a metal detector,” she told reporters. "We don’t want to create a fortress, we don’t want to create a situation where students are patted down before entering schools."

She stressed that Wednesday's stabbing was an “isolated” incident and that the majority of students feel safe in their schools.

"I acknowledge that a student has died in our school and I’m deeply concerned by that, but I believe this is an isolated incident."

Quan said after police have completed their investigation, the TDSB will conduct a debriefing about the stabbing and the events that led up to it.