A week after Brampton teenager Jordan Henry was killed in a New Year’s Eve shooting, the memory is still fresh for a number of his schoolmates at St. Marguerite d’Youville Secondary School.

When students returned from the holiday break on Monday, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board had support staff on hand for grieving students and staff members.

Henry, 17, was shot minutes before the new year in the area of Alderbury Crescent and Autumn Boulevard. He was Peel’s 31st homicide victim of 2019.

On Friday, police said Zakaria Hassan, a 22-year-old man from Hamilton, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Rukhshar Wahab, a 20-year-old woman from Kitchener, was charged with being an accessory after the fact.

Emmanuel Mantei was in some of the same classes as Henry last year at d’Youville and recalled how friendly he was.

“He was actually a funny guy, close with everyone,” Mantei said. “He never started any (trouble) at all . . . If he saw (something troubling), he’d stay away from it.”

Henry was a key member of d’Youville’s football team. On New Year’s Day, the team posted a collage of him on Twitter and Instagram, calling the act of gun violence senseless while saying Henry was a “quiet young man who was well respected by his coaches for the strong work ethic he brought to the field everyday.”

Peel’s homicide and missing persons bureau is still investigating the shooting. Anyone with information can contact police at 905-453-2121, ext. 3205. You can leave an anonymous tip with Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, or by visiting peelcrimestoppers.ca.

Iain Colpitts is a reporter for Mississauga News and Brampton Guardian. Reach him via email: icolpitts@mississauga.net

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