The family of a man allegedly shot by a 12-year-old on bail is slamming what it calls a “devastating failure of the justice system” after the boy was released on bail again Wednesday.
Police in York Region have said the boy was on bail during the Aug. 14 shooting near McCowan Road and 14th Avenue that sent a man to hospital. The accused, from Toronto, was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted murder.
Const. James Dickson said the suspect was released on bail after appearing in court Wednesday for the Aug. 14 shooting.
Police say the youth has also been charged with discharging a firearm with intent, possession of property obtained by crime and other charges.
The victim’s family released a statement Thursday expressing concerns about the youth being released on bail a second time.
“Learning that the individual who allegedly committed a violent act against our family is once again free in the community has left our family deeply unsettled and fearful,” said the release from the Daisy Group, a communications organization representing the family.
“The last few weeks have been a nightmare for our family, watching the victim slowly recover, and trying to make sense of the idea that someone could commit such a heinous nonsensical attack on our family has kept us all awake at night and holding our children closer.”
Dickson says police continue to investigate a motive behind the shooting, and officers are looking for at least one additional suspect.
“We’re still looking into why our victim was targeted. That’s part of the ongoing investigation,” Dickson said.
The family is calling for bail reform, saying that despite his age, the accused could be a danger to the public.
“This individual was already free due to the bail laws in Canada, and the failure to identify a potentially dangerous re-offender, regardless of age, is a devastating failure of the justice system,” the statement said.
York police chief demands bail reform following fatal home invasion
“The bail laws need to change in Canada, we need to call on our leaders to address this so that repeat dangerous offenders remain behind bars and are unable to commit future crimes.
This case comes after a string of alleged homicides and home invasions in York Region and the province over the past several days, prompting recent calls for federal bail reform from police and politicians.
“Once again, we’re seeing individuals released on bail involved in serious crimes within our community,” York Region police Chief Jim MacSween said in a news release about the 12-year-old accused on Wednesday.
“We must advocate for legislative measures which ensure violent and repeat offenders are kept off the streets, while also focusing on rehabilitating our youth, to ensure public safety, to protect our officers and to maintain public confidence,” he said.
The office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada addressed the issue of bail reform in a statement Wednesday.
“We are working closely with the provinces and territories to reform bail and sentencing, so police and prosecutors have stronger tools to keep violent offenders off the streets,” spokesperson Jeremy Bellefeuille said. “We look forward to working with all parties when the package is introduced later this fall.”
Tonya Kent, a criminal lawyer based in Toronto, is not privy to the case but spoke generally about cases involving youth.
“Bail is a Crown onus always for youth,” Kent said. “What that means is the Crown is the one that has to prove that the youth should not be released, no matter what the charge is … it depends on the evidence of the charge.”
Kent also says she is concerned police are using certain cases to bolster their political agendas, while leaving out important details related to the cases, such as the types of bail given to those accused.
“The police are using a lot of these cases as a political agenda in regards to arguing against [Section] 11(e) of the Charter,” she said.
There are different types of bail under Canada’s bail system, some include specific conditions, and the conditions range and could include house arrest or ankle bracelets. Kent said this information is rarely released by police, which can be misleading to the public.
“The police are purposefully leaving out that information when they do their news releases in order to make the public misunderstand or riled up against bail, which is essentially what their political agenda is right now,” she said.
