All along the Toronto police called the July 9 shooting, which took place in a public housing complex on Jamestown Cres. near Finch Ave. W., a “suspicious death” and did not believe, nor did Ross’s family believe, Lecent accidently shot herself. She was killed by a single shot from an illegal semi-automatic .40 calibre Smith and Wesson handgun.
Given the charges, it appears the 13-year-old boy was handling the gun. An 18-year-old male has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and other firearms offences including careless storage of a firearm.
Police cannot release the name of the 13-year-old due to his age; the 18-year-old’s name is not being released to protect the 13-year-old’s identity.
Police said there were other adults present at the time of the shooting and they have been cooperative in their investigation. The boy and 18-year-old are the only two charged, however.
The girl’s uncle Troy Ross, a boxer for Canada at two Olympic Games, said his niece was a “beautiful person” who would “light up a room.” As a July story from the Toronto Star notes, she was described by teachers and friends as happy and hard-working, successful and enterprising. A straight-A student, she wanted to become a lawyer.
At the time of his niece’s death, Troy Ross said that work needed to be done to rid Toronto of illegal handguns to prevent such a devastating tragedy from ever happening again.
