A 16-year-old student has died after being stabbed on a walkway near his high school in Toronto's east end.

Police have confirmed the boy was a student at Winston Churchill Collegiate, which is located close to where the incident occurred. The school is located in the Lawrence Avenue and Kennedy Road area and was not locked down.

The victim was stabbed several times in the stomach and showed no vital signs when emergency personnel responded to the call at about 12:05 p.m.

Police confirm the student was taken to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre where he succumbed to his injuries.

A motive has not been identified.

Coun. Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre) told CTV News the victim was recently transferred from Marc Garneau Collegiate, located on Overlea Boulevard, because of disciplinary problems.

In late August, a report by the School Safety Community Advisory Panel found that one of the key issues at another high school -- Toronto's troubled C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute -- was that students were being transferred to other schools without proper counselling after being expelled.

That report was ordered after the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jordan Manners in a hallway of the school, in May.

Police are now canvassing the area of Tuesday's attack and questioning students and faculty at the school.

Det. Sgt. Gary Grinton said the culprits jumped out of a light-blue '92 or '94 Honda Civic, attacked the boy, and then fled in the same vehicle.

No arrests have been made and the identity of the victim has not been released.

Police are looking for a suspect described as:

  • male, 5-foot-5

  • 17-18 years of age

  • wearing black jeans, a black zip-up hoodie, and a bandana covering his face

Premier Dalton McGuinty expressed his condolences to the victim's family, while on a campaign stop at Markham, Ont.

"As premier and maybe even more importantly, just as a Dad, I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of this young man who lost his life today in a senseless tragedy," he said.

He also called for an exhaustive investigation into the fatal stabbing.

"I think that we should always look for ways to continually improve the safety of our schools, the safety of our streets," he said.

Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said strong action must be taken to stop Toronto's youth violence.

"We simply can't let this kind of thing go on," he said. "We have to deal with this crime and the causes of this crime. I've been to too many funerals for these young people. We can't let them keep dying in our streets and in our community. It's just unacceptable."

John Muise, CTV police analyst and director of public safety at the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness, said violent crime involving weapons has been on the rise among young people in Canada.

He said the legal consequences for a young person convicted of a violent offence don't do enough to discourage violence. He called it a "revolving door" justice system.

Muise also said it's much too easy for young people to obtain a weapon.

"It wasn't a gun today, but I could send a kid into a housing project, the right kid with the right moxie, and he could bring one back within an hour's time. I think that's how easy it is for some of these kids."

With a report from CTV's Jim Junkin