Toronto teen slashed with machete after refusing to give up phone

Toronto - The 17-year-old was rushed to hospital in critical condition after he was repeatedly attacked with a machete after he refused to give a man his cellphone.

According to Toronto police [PDF], the police received a call about a stabbing at 4:40 a.m. yesterday and officers responded to the area near the intersection of McCowan Rd. and Sheppard Ave. E. in Scarborough, in the city's east end. The 17-year-old was at a bus stop on McCowan when approached by a man who asked to use his cellphone. After the teen refused, the man took out a machete and began slashing him. The boy managed to run and stopped a Toronto Transit Commission bus travelling northbound on McCowan. The bus driver hit the emergency button that automatically called 911 and the alleged attacker left the scene. He then returned and continued his attack on the boy. The man managed to grab the teen's cellphone and ran eastbound. Police searched the area and found the alleged attacker hiding underneath a vehicle. Gajan Ponniah, 19, of Markham, Ontario has been charged with attempted murder and robbery. The Globe and Mail reports the teen had deep cuts to his arms and torso. When he ran and managed to stop the bus, after numerous cars refused to stop, he left a trail of blood across the four lanes of McCowan. The Toronto Star reports police as saying, "There were so many cuts the doctor didn't even count how many there were." The police added the attack seemed "almost personal" because it was so vicious but police have no reason to believe the stabbing was anything more than a robbery. The youth remains in serious condition at Sunnybrook Hospital. It has been a particularly violent few days in the city that was once called "Toronto the Good." As Digital Journal reported, gunfire erupted Monday night at an outdoor party that claimed the lives of a 14-year-old girl and a 23-year-old man. More than 20 others were injured in the mass shooting. 680 News is reporting a man believed to be in his 20s was found shot to death around 1:30 a.m. today in a playground at a Lawrence Heights elementary school. He had been shot in the face and arm and several men were seen fleeing the scene. He was the fourth person to die from gunshot wounds in the city since Monday.