Video shows Toronto student being attacked by boys from another school

TORONTO -

A Toronto secondary school is taking extra security measures after a student was attacked by people believed to be from another school in a disturbing incident students say was caught on video.

Toronto police say a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy have been arrested and charged with assault causing bodily harm, and two suspects are outstanding in the incident that has rattled the Scarborough school’s community.

"It's scary for everyone, because people can walk in and out," said Grade 10 student Olivia Jones as she was getting picked up by her grandmother on Wednesday. "I was shocked and I wasn’t expecting it."

One parent, Patrick Hurtubise, said the school isn’t used to surprising events like this.

"The fact that they got inside the school and were able to cause havoc inside the school, that’s a little worrisome," Hurtubise said.

The video shows two people appearing to kick a student in the head as he lays down next to doors, in what the students described as the entrance to the cafeteria.

CTV News Toronto is choosing to only show the video in a limited way as students said it showed an assault of a minor.

Toronto police say the attack happened on Thursday November 18 at approximately 12:10pm. 

“It is alleged two boys assaulted a pupil. They fled the school,” a spokesperson said in a an e-mail. “The victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”

In a letter to parents, West Hill Collegiate Principal Trevor Bullen said, “Our thoughts are with the student and their family for a speedy recovery. This is now a police matter.”

He said that West Hill School-based safety monitors will be increased from 2.5 to four for the foreseeable future, and they have requested a new buzzer system at the front door.

Bullen asked students to stay on schedule, stay together with classmates while on break, and limit departures from class. He also said that students on spare periods should either go home or stay in the library.

“I do want to say that this week’s incident does not define our fantastic school community and the amazing work that goes on in our classrooms daily,” he wrote.

Toronto police also confirmed another incident on Nov. 15, at about 2 p.m., where a pupil at the same school was assaulted. A video in that case shows two people fighting in a school hallway as a third attempts to break them up.

“The pupil was not seriously injured. This remains an ongoing investigation and officers are working with the school,” the TPS spokesperson said in an e-mail.

Despite the recent incidents, the statistics show the schools may be getting less violent. In the 2018-2019 school year, there were 873 suspensions district-wide for physical assault, and 1,113 for fighting.

Both of those dropped to 593 for physical assaults and 633 for fighting. It’s possible that the pandemic restrictions played a role in the decrease.