A 12-year-old boy is facing an attempted murder charge after he allegedly struck a Toronto police officer with the stolen vehicle he was driving in East York.
The Special Investigations Unit, which is investigating the incident, said police received a call about a vehicle that was stolen from near a subway station on Danforth Avenue at approximately 1:30 a.m.
A spokesperson for the SIU told reporters that two police cruisers located and attempted to box in the vehicle on the Leaside Bridge. As the driver allegedly fled the scene, he struck an officer who was outside of his vehicle.
The officer fired his weapon “multiple” times to stop the car, which was also carrying one other 12-year-old and a 13-year-old. The SIU couldn’t say if the shots were fired before or after the officer was struck.
The 12-year-old suspect and his passengers later abandoned the vehicle at Donlands and Floyd avenues. The driver was apprehended on foot at Donlands and Mortimer avenues. The SIU said he has been transported to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. It’s unclear if he was shot.
“So, it’s not yet confirmed the nature of the boy’s injuries. Now the injury could be from a bullet, could be a graze, could be glass from the vehicle. We don’t yet know that, but what we do know is it’s non-life-threatening injuries at this point,” Kristy Denette, SIU spokesperson, said.
Police said the officer who was hit by the vehicle was transported to hospital with serious injuries, but Denette said he has since been released.
One of the occupants of the vehicle was apprehended, while the other is outstanding, she added.
Denette said bullets did strike the stolen vehicle in an attempt to stop it, though its unclear exactly how many shots were fired.
Area resident Ava Evangelou said she heard what sounded like three gunshots around 1 a.m. and recalled seeing as many as 10 police cruisers rushing towards the scene from “every direction” minutes after the shots rang out.
“I saw a cop on the ground…I didn’t really know what was happening...it was really scary,” she told CP24, sharing video of the aftermath which shows one officer seated on the roadway leaning on a concrete barrier.
The boy, who cannot be named under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is also charged with theft of a motor vehicle, possession of property over $5,000, dangerous operation, fail to stop for police, assaulting a peace officer and leaving the scene of an accident.
Five investigators, including three forensic investigators and a collision reconstructionist have been assigned to the case.
The SIU is an arms-length agency called in to investigate whenever police are involved in an incident that results in death, serious injury, allegations of sexual assault, and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.
‘We’re lucky we don’t have another killed police officer’: TPA president
Clayton Campbell, Toronto Police Association president, told reporters near Leaside Bridge that he has spoken to the injured officer who he says was left only with a lot of “bumps and bruises and scrapes.”
“We’re lucky we don’t have another killed police officer…. we’re lucky he’s able to recover,” he said.
Campbell said his members are “sick” of the recent violence against police officers in Toronto, pointing to the deadly shooting of Const. Marc Pinizzotto on Thursday. He said two officers were also assaulted at a FIFA World Cup game at Toronto stadium on Friday.
“What is going on in the city? This is ridiculous,” he said.
While it’s unclear if the shots fired by the officer came before or after they were struck by the vehicle, Campbell said that he believes the use of a firearm in this circumstance would be justified. The SIU, however, is leading the investigation into the shooting itself.
“If a car is going to run you over and kill you and your colleagues, you’re allowed to use your firearm,” he said.
“This is a child, it’s a 12-year-old child. We don’t want to use force on a child, clearly, but if your life is in danger, unfortunately, you have no choice but to protect yourself and your colleagues.”