Toronto police have identified the teenager stabbed to death in a residential Scarborough neighbourhood on Monday afternoon.
Brendon Bowler was found with life-threatening injuries near Guildwood Parkway and Livingston Road at around 12:20 p.m.
He was rushed to a local trauma centre but did not survive. His death marks Toronto’s 24th homicide of the year.
Witnesses to the incident told CTV News Toronto that two groups of students were involved in some sort of altercation over the lunch hour.
An employee of nearby Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute described seeing people scatter and a young man “lying on his back” on the ground.
Police would not confirm if 17-year-old Bowler attended the high school. However, in a letter to parents, principal Marios Tenentes said the school is mourning “the tragic loss of this young life.”
“I know that you will join with all of us in expressing our deepest condolences to grieving family and friends,” Tenentes wrote. “As a school, we have arranged for additional TDSB staff to be available to support students with concerns they might have.”
Tenentes told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday that Bowler was finishing his last three credits and was set to graduate.
“I was looking forward to handing him his diploma at commencement in June,” he said.
At 12:15, hundreds of students gathered at the site where the teen was killed to lay flowers down and leave messages of support.
“I don’t know what to feel right now,” one student said. “Not a lot you can feel after someone really close to you is taken away from you.”
“I’m feeling very sad for his little brother right now and his mom,” a resident in the area said.
Two people have since been charged in connection with the case.
The suspects, identified as 18-year-old Emmett Carew and 20-year-old Cheddi Itwaroo, have both been charged with second-degree murder.
They both appeared in court Tuesday afternoon and are scheduled to appear in court again on May 23 via video link.
School staff told CTV News Toronto the suspects are former students at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute.
A man who identified himself as the brother of Itwaroo told CTV News Toronto as he left the courtroom that the family is in “good spirits.”
“It’s another day of life, that’s the way I take it,” he said. “It’s unusual, yes, that it happened to this part of the family, but we live in Toronto.”
“It’s heartbreaking to hear but the situation, what happened… It sucks, it’s not good.”
Previously, Toronto police said they were trying to identify the roles of two males and a female in the incident. Investigators are asking anyone who may have been outside the school over lunchtime and witnessed or recorded anything to contact them.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Janice Golding
