The recent death of 15-year-old Isaiah Witt shocked a community — and is now sparking conversations about how to handle the violence happening at popular teen park parties.

Witt died after he was stabbed in the playground of Stan Wadlow park in East York, and his friends say he was attending a party that was planned on social media.

These parties — called 'Rosedale Jams' — are organized through Snapchat and other types of social media and planned in public parks. Earlier this year, Toronto police said several of the parties resulted in "swarming-style" robberies, stabbings and assaults.

On Tuesday, dozens of Toronto residents attended a discussion about the implications of planning parties on social media and the recent string of violent incidents.

Victoria Elliot brought her 13-year-old son to the meeting. Elliot said even though her teen isn't attending the jams, she thinks it's important he hears the community's input.

"When you hear of a child being stabbed who's only 15, yes, that's a bit worrisome," Elliot said.

No easy solution

The meeting included short presentations from a social media expert, a psychologist and Toronto police.

It was organized by the North Rosedale Residents' Association. President Lewis Reford said he wanted the event to encourage an open dialogue.

"It's really not meant to be a lecture," Reford said. "You have good and bad people coming together and I think that's where the last Rosedale jam went awry."

Reford added that while there's no easy solution, he's hoping bringing the different groups together will help the parents understand more about the parties.

Safety in a digital age

Police were also invited to speak on the panel presentation. They've responded to multiple incidents related to the parties.

A handout from Toronto police shows that the number of robberies in the Rosedale-Moore Park neighbourhood have increased 58 per cent in 2017.

Sergeant James Hogan with 53 division said police are able to intervene when the parties are planned on social media publicly, but the numbers can get out of control quickly.

"The difference here is the speed and the scale at which people can be notified of it," Hogan said. "It isn't word of mouth where you have to talk to someone, it's anonymous and instantaneous."

Hogan also stressed the importance of parents having discussions with their teens.

"What we hope is that parents and young people become more aware of the downsides of this kind of social organizing and that parents ask a few more questions about where their 14 and 15-year-olds are going," he said.