As two suspects remain at large for the shooting death of 8-year-old JahVai Roy, community members, activists, and family members came together to once again call for an end to gun violence.
The event, organized collectively by a series of community groups, began at Nathan Phillips Square on Saturday afternoon and saw hundreds of people from across the city carrying signs and photos of loved ones as they marched to Queen’s Park.
“We know the roots of violence, poverty in the communities, not having access to jobs, not having different resources for people in the community. So now it’s time that we start to make something happen, and rally together,” said Keith Sweeney with the Zero Gun Violence Movement.
The rally comes just days after Toronto police announced that a 16-year-old suspect has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Roy, who was killed while lying in bed with his mother in their North York apartment building on August 16. Police are continuing to search for two suspects, a 17 and an 18-year-old.
“We need to stand up together in solidarity as a city, as a community, as parents, people who have lost their loved ones, because nobody is immune to gun violence,” said Holly Roy, JahVai’s mother.
Advocates say that although the ages of these suspects are shocking, they point to a deeper issue.
“Extreme violence is being committed by younger and younger people. And JahVai is one of the youngest, the youngest member of my organization, so it kinda hits home extremely deep for us,” said Marcell Wilson, founder of the One By One Movement.
“Yes, they’re younger folks. What does support even look like when they are incarcerated or when they come out, because prevention is better than cure, so really focusing on the prevention pieces so this cycle can stop,” said Rita Asare, executive director of the Black Action Defense Committee.
“We’re calling on the government, the different sectors of government, to work together, to work with the community and with us in a tangible way, in a way that shows actual results, so we need to start collecting the data properly, stop working in silos,” added Wilson.
And many more agree, if we want to see a lasting change, we all have a responsibility.
“We all have to start looking out for each other. My mentor, Louis March, used to say, ‘I’m going to keep doing this until there is no gun violence in Rexdale like there is in Rosedale.’ We need to start looking at zero gun violence as possible, but we have to be the champions of that,” added Sweeney.
