Warning: Readers may find the details of this article to be disturbing
Residents of an east-end Toronto neighbourhood are keeping their pets indoors after a police charged a teenager with animal cruelty charges.
From Aug. 1 to Aug. 28, Toronto police allege a 16-year-old boy injured and killed several local animals, including a community cat.
Riverdale residents told CTV News Toronto that Millie, a cat, was found dead, apparently shaved, underneath a shed while another has been missing. They also shared that one raccoon was found dead while another was allegedly tortured.
A poster appealing for information about the raccoon that was "bludgeoned to death" can be seen plastered on a street post, urging those with information about the "disturbing" incident to call detectives.
"We learned about the raccoon that was brutally killed near here," resident Anita told CTV News Toronto on Friday afternoon.
A small memorial popped up on one of the neighbourhood's streets for one of the dead raccoons, and earlier in the week, police attended a vigil for Millie.
"As soon as the police were called, they took it very seriously. They've been coming every day looking for video footage," Anita said.
While neighbours were shocked by what happened, they still expressed their support for the family involved.
"Our hearts go out to the family, because I think there are a lot of mental health issues," Anita said.
On Thursday, police charged the teen with killing or injuring other animals, failure to comply with conditions and two counts of causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to an animal. The charges have not been tested in court, and the youth’s identity is protected under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, police said there is no risk to the public or animals in the area.
Parents of accused release statement
In a letter addressed to the members of the Riverdale community and shared with CTV News Toronto, the parents of the 16-year-old boy wrote that they “are in pain alongside you.”
“As the parents of the child who has been accused of harming animals in our community, we feel it’s important for you to know that no one is taking this lightly and regardless of the extent to which our child is or isn’t involved, we are taking this seriously and are engaging the maximum available support,” they wrote.
“This is for the safety of all of us, including our child. A child, who is also a vulnerable member of this community - something that some of you conveniently minimize.”
The parents, who said they are longtime members of the community, thanked those who stood with them in this difficult time.
“In an age of all too many crime shows and podcasts, we understand how easy it can be to engage in vigilante detective mentality and how enticing it can be to create a narrative of loose threads to help piece together a fragmented reality. But this is our real life and your behaviour is impacting the safety and mental health of our children and neighbours,” they said.
“As a community, we have a responsibility to each other, and that means coming from a place of compassion and understanding instead of the all-too-often fallback of judgment and contempt.”
The parents then ask for respect and privacy while police investigate and support agencies help their child and family.
They also requested community members to refrain from engaging in speculation, stop sharing their child’s identity and home address and end making threats to the family.
“We keep you all in our prayers and hearts as we move forward on this journey. We hope for healing and accountability,” the parents said.
“And we hope that as a community we can rise to the occasion to understand that we need each other. Not just in moments of crisis, but every day.”
Investigators ask anyone with information or footage that could aid their investigation to contact them or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
