In the hours after a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot in a Regent Park apartment, neighbours shared their sadness, anger and frustration at the most recent gun death in their community.
Mackai Bishop Jackson was found suffering from a gunshot wound inside an eighth-floor unit in a Toronto Community Housing building near Sackville and St. Bartholomew streets at around 4:22 p.m. on Tuesday.
The mother of one of the victim’s friends said Jackson was at her apartment when he was killed. Her son was home sick from school at the time.
“I don’t know what happened in the house … I wasn’t there,” Sabila Mohamed told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “I just got a call from my daughter telling me to come home, something happened. I couldn’t even go inside the house. I was beside myself when I heard a young boy died, who I know died in my house, in my living room.”
“He was a young boy, young, young boy. Fifteen-year-old young boy. Now his mom is crying for her son,” she said.
Mohamed said that her son “is not well” and that she is frustrated at the lack of support her community is being given.
“Our kids are dying. Nobody is doing anything about it. Nobody is doing anything about it. A young boy died. Nobody is giving us any counselling,” she said. “A boy died here. Our kids are dying every single day. What is the city doing about it? We want to know!”
So far, no arrests have been made in Jackson’s murder, nor has a description of a possible suspect or suspects been provided.
Police say there has been a lot of cooperation from residents and witnesses.
“We are looking for witnesses. We have had cooperation from witnesses and we’ve conducted several interviews,” Det. Aaron Akeson told CP24. “We are always looking for more witnesses, more video, anything the community can offer. Anybody from the area, we would appreciate any assistance.”
Friends remember Jackson as ‘kindest kid’
A small makeshift memorial has grown near the building where the teen was shot. Flowers, a signed basketball and a trio of candles were laid under several photographs taped to the wall. The pictures showed Jackson posing with friends and by a car.
Those who stopped by the scene on Wednesday morning painted a picture of a teen who was well known and well loved in the Regent Park community.
“He always had a smile on his face. He was really good. He was the kindest little kid, he would always say ‘hi’ to you, always go up to you and give you a hug,” one girl said.
Jackson, also known as MJ, celebrated his 15th birthday just one day before he was killed.
Friends say he was a quiet, “normal” kid who loved sports.
“He was like my third little brother,” Cody said. “I loved that kid so much… It’s crazy how this happened to him.”
Frustrated community wants action
Members from the Regent Park neighbourhood spoke with reporters outside the local community centre Wednesday where they made an appeal for help and support. Specifically, they asked that the Regent Park Community Centre restart all of its programs.
Many of the programs were paused when the community centre took in residents displaced by a highrise fire on Parliament Street.
“This is not a shelter. The name has to change so we can know this is a shelter, not a community centre,” resident Sureya Ibrahim told reporters. “This has to be an emergency. We need the space immediately right now.”
Ibrahim also said there has been a lack of counselling offered to members of the community impacted by gun violence.
“I’m not sure how many young people we need to lose in order to get proper counselling, proper space, proper housing,” she said.
Selwyn Pieters, a lawyer who lives in Regent Park, called Jackson’s death “troubling.”
“It’s very troubling, but we don’t want people to make any conclusions that there was any gang activity or anything of that nature,” he said. “We would like an investigation to proceed, take its course and we would like the coroner to get down to the root of what took the kids life and what preventable measures could be in place.”
The City of Toronto announced Wednesday evening that the Regent Park Community Centre will resume its scheduled programing on Oct. 1.
A community meeting was at Lord Dufferin Public School around 6 p.m. to address gun violence in Regent Park.
Tory promises to invest in youth programing
A spike in gun violence over the summer months has drawn widespread concern, from citizens and governments alike.
As part of a city-led initiative to quell the crime, the Toronto Police Service deployed nearly 200 additional front-line officers during peak hours for an eight-week stint.
Police made more than 247 gun-related arrests and seized 136 firearms during that time.
The city, meanwhile, has injected more funding into community-focused initiatives for youth and at-risk neighbourhoods while asking the provincial and federal governments for more help. The Ford government later pledged $25 million in new funding over four years to curb crime.
Toronto Mayor John Tory drilled down on the role youth programs can play in combating gun and gang violence while at a campaign event on Wednesday.
“Investing in kids and families in neighbourhoods where just a little bit of support like the programs we’re talking about today will make the difference between going down the right path and having a great job and opportunity, and going down the wrong path where you’re attracted to guns and gangs,” he said.
“I assure you I’m putting every bit of effort into this and I’m working in partnership with other governments and I will continue to do that.”
Tory vowed to hire 200 more police officers if reelected in October. He also reiterated his desire to see a handgun ban in the city.
He said he continues to reach out to people like Chief Mark Saunders and federal Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Bill Blair for their support and direction.
“I’m leaving no stone unturned,” Tory said. “I’m trying to ask them for their ideas and ask them what more we can do to support them in fighting this gun crime in particular.”
“The kind of people who would do this, I can’t even contemplate. I know the damage it is doing to the fabric of our communities and to the lives of the people who live there and their families, it just breaks my heart.”
Jackson’s death marks the city’s 81st homicide of the year.
