pc28police say two 17-year-olds have been arrested in the drive-by shooting of a 15-year-old student at Weston Collegiate.
In a news conference held Friday afternoon, Insp. Norm Proctor of pc28police’s gun and gang task force provided an update about the shooting at the west-end high school over the lunch hour on Thursday.
Proctor said the suspects drove a 2022 grey Hyundai Elantra to the school near Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue West during lunchtime.
The driver fired from inside the vehicle, allegedly shooting the victim multiple times, hitting him in the torso, Proctor told reporters Friday.
Police say the Grade 10 student was shot in the parking lot just outside Weston Collegiate Institute around noon on Thursday. He then ran back inside the school, where staff “immediately attended to him and tried to keep him supported until paramedics could arrive,” pc28District School Board spokesperson Ryan Bird told reporters at an update at the school Thursday afternoon.
Officials say the student, who has not been identified, was taken to hospital by emergency run in critical condition. Police earlier confirmed his injuries were life threatening.
Police now say the suspect vehicle was stolen and had been carjacked earlier in the day prior to the shooting.
Investigators from 12 Division, pc28police gun and gang task force, along with the assistance of Peel Regional Police were able to execute a search warrant at an address in Peel.
Two boys, 17, were arrested and investigators seized a 9 mm handgun.
The teens are expected to appear at 2201 Finch Avenue West courts this afternoon, in room 201.
They face a slew of charges, including attempted murder, discharge firearm with intent, two counts of possession of restricted or prohibited firearm, and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
“It felt like a life-or-death situation,” Tahir, a 17-year-old Weston C.I. student, told the Star Thursday upon seeing the police presence as he was approaching the school after lunch with a friend.
“My heart stopped for a minute because I didn’t know where the shooter was,” he said.
The shooting comes on the heels of several violent incidents at pc28schools that continue to trouble administrators and youth workers, including the fatal shooting of a recently-graduated student in the parking lot of Woburn Collegiate Institute in Scarborough this past November. In that case, some dozen students were witness to the disturbing event that was captured on video.
With files from Jennifer Pagliaro, Isabel Teotonio, Dhriti Gupta.
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