Community can assume responsibility for safety by not tolerating killings
Jarvis Montaque, a "quiet, kind and loving" teen who attended church and steered clear of trouble, lost his life a month ago to a man with a gun.
He was the third 15-year-old gunned down on Toronto streets in just one month.
Just before 11 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 17, Jarvis was hanging out with friends on a paved walkway outside his Jamestown home. A man police describe as black wearing black clothing walked up to the group and shot Jarvis. Police called it a targeted shooting. Yet Jarvis knew no trouble, police reported.
Toronto police Supt. Ron Taverner, unit commander of the neighbourhood's 23 Division, urged the community to come forward to talk with his officers and homicide investigators to solve Jarvis's murder, and to stanch the bloodletting of young men that has stained too many north Etobicoke streets.
Police need information, leads, witnesses.
"We don't have a motive. There is absolutely no indication Jarvis was involved in anything untoward. (His murder) would appear to be a random act," Taverner said Friday of the homicide investigation into Jarvis's murder.
Jarvis was shot to death at close range.
"The way he was killed could mean he was targeted," Taverner said. "Or it could have been a message sent to other people or a case of mistaken identity."
Ten days ago, Crime Stoppers sped up the launch of its latest campaign, "You Stay Anonymous, Crime Doesn't" at Taverner's north Etobicoke police station, a response to the spate of murders of the three 15-year-olds.
"Someone knows what happened here. Someone knows and is able to provide us with helpful information, whether that's naming the shooter, talking to us about motives. We're confident of that," Taverner said.
The murder of another 15-year-old, Andrew Naidoo, just three large city blocks away from where Jarvis was killed, less than two years ago remains an unsolved homicide, Taverner confirmed.
Andrew was killed in a hail of gunfire on Sunday, May 29, 2011 just after 11 p.m. in the centre courtyard at the rear of the 1801-1803 Martin Grove Rd. near Finch Avenue West townhouse complex where he lived with his mother and sister.
Despite a plea for witnesses, and a police YouTube video, no arrests have been made in the case.
Taverner issued residents a call-to-action to keep their neighbourhoods safe. Speak out against the violence. Act against the violence by calling police with information about unlawful or suspicious activity. Report security concerns like insufficient lighting or broken security cameras to Toronto Community Housing, with whom police have a close working relationship, Taverner said.
Attend community meetings and seek out access to city resources, urged Etobicoke North Councillor Vince Crisanti, who represents Jamestown.
At a recent city-held meeting in the wake of Jarvis's death, residents were outnumbered by community agency representatives by about 2:1, Crisanti reported.
"There was a lot of resources there that evening to help families deal with issues. I find it discouraging that not more people came out," Crisanti said. "As a city, we invest multi-million dollars to assist individuals, families, youth. How do we do better at reaching out?"
Residents must also reach out to take back the safety of their community, Crisanti argued.
"I understand there is fear in the community. But the community needs to come out and not be afraid," he said. "The police do a great job. But they cannot do it themselves. They need information.
"There should be more fear about the fact the shooters are still out there," Crisanti said of the murders of Suleiman Ali, 26, of Toronto and Warsame Ali, 26, of Vaughan shot to death around 1:20 a.m. on Sept. 18 in behind Jamestown townhouses. "There should be more fear of that — knowing they're still out there. A safer community is made by a strong community. There is a north Etobicoke directory of community services that lists services, agencies. Residents need also to take advantage of the new Rexdale Community Hub that assists families."
Fatima Filippi, executive director of Rexdale Women's Centre, said Jarvis's murder has triggered a community response of outrage not typically seen. Last year, the Rexdale Community Hub of 11 agencies opened in a $14 million renovation of the former Father Henry Carr Secondary School on Panorama Court.
"(Jarvis's murder) has opened up the community; people are talking more openly against what's happening," Filippi said. "It's so frustrating when innocent people are targeted."
Community outreach, like Jarvis's vigil, are critical to calming community fears, quelling misinformation and triggering a call-to-action to residents to assume responsibility for safety in their neighbourhoods, Filippi said.
"It's important to give people the right information where they feel safe and they understand everyone is responsible for safety, not just the police and not just the city," Filippi said. "If you reach one or two people, maybe those people influence 10 other people and you cause that kind of change to happen. Outreach has a valuable role in the community. Residents can share their frustrations and also voice their support (for action)."
Addressing larger, systemic issues like poverty and lack of access to employment sometimes related to violence requires more long-term work, Filippi suggested.
"If a youth feels no sense of purpose or value in life, how do we address that?" she said. "That's not a short-term fix. Mentorship can create that support base. We have all the United Way reports: "Vertical Poverty" and "Precarious Employment" that create either a sense of despair or an opportunity. How do we move to it being an opportunity?
"I'm not sure what's stopping us. It's about self-esteem, self-value, self-worth and working on all of those with kids from a very early stage. We're all very saddened about Jarvis. It's a tragic loss for his family, his friends and for the community as a whole."
Anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or visit www.222tips.com. A cash reward of as much as $2,000 is available.
- With files from Cynthia Reason
Last year, the Rexdale Community Hub opened quietly opened in the renovated former Father Henry Carr Secondary School on Panorama Court of Kipling and Finch avenues. The city contributed $4.79 million, United Way $2.4 million, the feds and the province $2.73 million each to the project. Other partners gave $1 million.
Albion Neighbourhood Services and Rexdale Community Health Centre are both co-lead agencies in the hub, which offers integrated health, social, legal, employment and cultural services.
The other agencies that operate out of the hub are:
* Rexdale Women's Centre
* Rexdale Community Legal Clinic
* Community MicroSkills Development Centre
* Toronto Employment Social Services
* Somali Business Development Centre
* Dejinta Beesha
* ProTech Media Centre
* Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto
* Delta Family Resource Centre
To reach one of the agencies in the Rexdale Community Hub, call 416-741-3000.
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