Toronto man stabbed to death by a group of eight teenage girls
Toronto police say they know the identity of a 59 year old man who was stabbed to death by eight teenage girls. The man, Ken Lee, was allegedly swarmed by a group of girls in mid-December.
He was reportedly living in a homeless shelter and was attacked at around midnight in the city’s downtown. He later died in the hospital. Police say he may have been attacked because he was carrying alcohol.
According to the BBC, the teenage girls were arrested and charged in the days after the attack. They are currently being charged with second-degree murder.
Police say the girls first met online before meeting in person on the night of the attack. They say the girls may have not known each other before they met and say it does not appear to be a gang-related crime.
Police are now looking for other victims of the group of up to 10 girls who may have been assaulted at public transit stations in the hours before the attack on Lee.
They didn’t say the attacks were related, but police told Canadian media that the girls are also suspects in those earlier assaults.
Lee’s attack and subsequent death have shocked the city of Toronto, with the mayor, John Tory, saying he was “deeply disturbed” by the case. Detective Sergeant Terry Browne told the Associated Press in December, that he was also shocked.
“I’ve been policing for almost 35 years and you think you’ve seen it all. If this isn’t alarming and shocking to everyone, then we’re all in trouble quite frankly.”
Browne went on to say that the assault was an “anomaly,” adding that the girls were from different parts of the city and all met downtown to carry out the attack. Police then said that three of the girls had earlier run-ins with the police.
A street pastor, Doug Johnson Hatlem, who works with the homeless community in Toronto, says that many knew Lee.
“People called him Kenny. He was known to be very gentle and kind.”
Lee’s family called him a “beloved son, brother, and uncle” in an online fundraiser to help cover his funeral and case legal fees.
They said that last fall, he was “experiencing some bad luck and he left home determined to get his life back on track.”
