TORONTO — The stepmother of a 17-year-old boy who was fatally shot early Sunday in Toronto says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Trisha Samuels says her stepson Jarryl Hagley was eating pizza down the street from the house with his friends when the shooting happened.
"He was a very loving boy, he loved everybody that was around him, he wasn't a trouble-maker," Samuels says. "He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
Police said they responded to the call at about 1:40 a.m. They say Hagley was shot after a gunman entered the restaurant and began firing in his direction. He was taken to hospital, but later died of his injuries.
Staff Sgt. Tim Jacob says the police are not releasing any more information about the shooting, but are urging witnesses to come forward.
No suspect description has been provided.
Samuels says Hagley's mother and three younger brothers are devastated by the news.
She says Hagley was never in trouble with the law and was looked up to by his brothers and many other children in the community.
"He will be remembered as a good boy — loving, kind, friendly. He loves to try to help everyone as much as he can," she says. "Sometimes he even goes down to the point of giving his friends his clothes and his shoes to let them feel loved and welcomed in his household."
Samuels says she and her partner have little information on what happened and who opened fire at the restaurant.
"We have 100 questions and zero answers."
