Toronto was once known as “Toronto the Good.” Back then, rare violent crimes sent shock waves throughout the city. Now, they are almost commonplace, and often do not become front page news.
On August 16, 1995, one of Toronto’s most heinous crimes occurred. Tamara and Marsha Ottey were stabbed to death, in the basement of their Scarborough home, by Marsha’s possessive ex-boyfriend, days before she headed to Arkansas State University, on a full track scholarship.
Eerily, exactly 30 years later (August 16, 2025), eight-year-old JahVai Roy, in a child’s safest place on earth, in the security, comfort and sanctuary of his mother's bed, with his mom, was killed by a stray bullet, in the ground floor apartment of their North York building.
Two weeks later, August 29, 2025, 19-year-old Daniel Amalathas was found in a washroom at the Scarborough Town Centre, the victim of gunshot.
The Black Action Defence Committee (BADC) organized today’s march and rally, from Nathan Phillips Square to Queen’s Park, to draw attention to the problem of gun violence in the greater Toronto area.
The BADC delivered a well-executed event. The only thing that was lacking was thousands more Torontians.
We often think or believe consciously or subconsciously that many issues are somebody else's problem, until they knock on our front door.
Where is our sense of community?
Why are we lacking in empathy?
Today, Jahvai Dominic Reese Roy's mom shared that she attended this annual march and rally for several years, with her older children, in support of other families, whose homes and lives had been shattered by gun violence, never imagining that a bullet would, one day pierce her heart and obliterate the peace and contentment of her household.
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