

Codi Wilson, CP24.com





Toronto police say three teens are facing charges after they allegedly attacked another teen near a Scarborough high school last week.

According to Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook, the charges stem from an incident involving a 15-year-old student at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute.

Police said the victim was allegedly attacked by a group of teens at around noon on Nov. 29 while he was on his way home from school.

The alleged attack left the victim with both eyes swollen shut, Douglas-Cook said.

Two teens were charged in connection with the incident on Monday of this week and a third teen was charged on Wednesday.

The suspects, who are ages 14, 15, and 16, have been charged with assault causing bodily harm. They cannot be identified due to the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Douglas-Cook added that police are aware of reports that suggest videos of similar incidents have been posted on social media but she said investigators have not yet seen those videos.

"I don’t know that it is a trend… but it certainly is concerning and that is why we are taking it very seriously, working with the school board to try to deter this kind of behaviour," Douglas-Cook told CP24 Thursday.

She said the investigation is still in its early stages.

"We are currently looking into the possibility that there are other kids that were involved and there possibly can be more charges laid," she added.

"We want to make sure that the kids are safe in school. That’s the number one priority and if there are people that are not necessarily directly involved in the assaults but they are encouraging it indirectly by filming it… then we are certainly asking them to not do that, first of all, and if they see this to report it to school officials or to the police.”

Toronto District School Board spokesperson Ryan Bird confirmed that multiple incidents have been reported to the board.

"We are aware of a handful of these incidents happening over the last week or two at a handful of east-end schools. Some of them are happening off school property, some of them are happening outside of school hours as well," he said.

"We’re working closely with Toronto Police who are investigating to try to provide any assistance we can to make sure this comes to an end."