Toronto police say a 12-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man are facing charges including second-degree murder after a homeless man died as a result of several violent attacks on people in the city's downtown core.
Det. Sgt. Stacey McCabe says the attacks targeted vulnerable people and took place between 5:45 a.m. and 8:07 a.m. on Aug. 31.
She says the accused – one of whom was armed with a hammer – approached a homeless man in the area of Yonge and Dundas streets and began beating him.
When that victim escaped, the accused moved on and assaulted another homeless man who was later taken to hospital.
McCabe says the accused continued walking to Nathan Philips Square, where they attacked a 62-year-old homeless man who was sleeping on a bench.
Police say that man was taken to hospital and later released, but he was found dead due to his injures on Sept. 4.
They say the accused also pushed an old man to the ground after taking his phone and slapped a phone out of the hand of another man on the same morning before they were arrested by two police officers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2025.
