TORONTO - A 17-year-old youth is facing a second-degree murder charge in connection with the fatal stabbing of another teen who police say intervened in a fight at a Toronto high school.
Police say officers called to North Albion Collegiate Institute in the city's northwest during the noon hour Tuesday found 19-year-old Hamid Aminzada with no vital signs.
He was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died in hospital.
The 17-year-old — who cannot be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act — was later arrested.
Police allege there was an ongoing dispute between two students, which led to a confrontation in a school hallway.
They say when another student intervened "to defuse the situation," he was stabbed.
Donna Quan, director of education for the Toronto District School Board, said she believes it was an isolated incident and that schools are safe.
"We do no have this happening in our schools each day or often. In general our schools are very, very welcoming, very, very caring."
She also said current safety measures, including video surveillance systems, are sufficient and there are no plans to have metal detectors installed at schools in the wake of the tragedy.
"Metal detectors are not the answer. We don't want to create fortresses," she said Wednesday.
When asked how a student managed to bring a knife into the school, Toronto police Superintendent Ron Taverner said the incident could have happened anywhere.
"Because this happened in a school it's obviously very, very tragic but the reality is those type of weapons could be secreted on anyone, anywhere."
Aminzada, who was born in Pakistan and arrived in Canada with his family about two years ago, was described Tuesday as a "very kind young man" whose death left the high school "heartbroken" as students and staff struggled to cope with his death.
"This is a very nice and kind young man. It's heartbreaking for us because all we've seen from him is just being respectful," said school principal Naeem Siddiq.
"It's a very sad story for us as he was quite focused on his family and his future. There's no indication of this young man in any way being involved in anything negative and it's just a tragic loss for us."
Siddiq said Aminzada had been a "very active student" in the school's English as a Second Language program and was well known to teachers and students.
