Barrie Police have charged a 14-year-old boy with first-degree murder in connection with the death of a fellow teen in the city’s south end early Tuesday.

Police spokesperson Peter Leon says both the victim and the accused lived in the same Penvill Trail home, but were not related to each other.

Neighbours told simcoe.com they suspect the home, near Ardagh Road and Mapleton Avenue, is a group home. However police, Simcoe-Muskoka Family Connections and Ontario’s Children, Community and Social Services ministry, citing privacy concerns, all refused to confirm that is the case.

When officers arrived at the home at about 6 a.m. Feb. 19, they found a “young person” with life-threatening injuries. The victim, whose age has not been released, was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.