Teen facing murder charge in fatal Etobicoke school stabbing

For only the second time in the school board’s history, a student was killed inside a Toronto District school on Tuesday.

But the death of Hamid Aminzada, 19, will not spark sweeping changes in school board policy like the death of Jordan Manners did seven years ago.

Police said Aminzada was trying to break up a fight between two people that broke out in the halls of North Albion Collegiate Institute, located in the Kipling and Finch area, when he was stabbed.

It was lunchtime, just before 12:20 p.m., when the Grade 12 ESL student was slashed in the face and stabbed in the abdomen while trying to intervene. He died later in hospital.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday morning TDSB Director of Education Donna Quan acknowledged she was “deeply concerned” about the death of a student, but called the death an isolated incident.

“We don’t want to create fortresses. We want to have conversations. If there are situations that occur, there are processes in place to address that,” said Quan.

The board will conduct a review of its existing processes, said Quan, and issue a report on ways to improve those processes.

But Quan spoke out against any major changes, such as metal detectors.

“I strongly believe that metal detectors are not the answer. I say that loudly, because I strongly believe in the community being part of that. It is about the relationships that we have in our schools. It is about knowing the students on the ground. It is about hearing the voices of the students,” said Quan.

In the wake of Jordan Manners’ death at C.W. Jefferys in 2007 the board implemented “safe schools committees” and numbered doors to coordinate more easily in emergencies.

Quan stressed it is these committees that must be on the forefront of tackling violence in the schools by encouraging students to confide in school officials and fostering strong relationships across the school community.

Quan called the school a microcosm of the larger community, and stressed that an incident like Tuesday’s stabbing could happen anywhere. She added that 93 per cent of TDSB students reported feeling safe at school.

Police had completed their investigation inside the school in time for students to return to class on Wednesday.

An additional school resource officer had been dispatched to the school Wednesday to complement the two officers regularly posted there. The school resource program was started by the Toronto Police in 2008.

The accused, 17, was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday at 2201 Finch Ave. W.

He cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Police did not comment on the investigation into Aminzada’s muder, the city’s 38th homicide of the year, during the news conference.

With files from Toronto staff