Hundreds at candlelight vigil return to Toronto subway station where teen boy fatally stabbed

During a candlelight vigil on Thursday, a Toronto mother returned to the west end subway station where her son was fatally stabbed on the weekend.

Andrea Magalhaes, mother of Gabriel Magalhaes, 16, led the vigil to the TTC's Keele station on a candlelight walk on Bloor Street West from High Park.

Hundreds of people took part, holding candles and flowers, moving quietly in the evening air.

Inside the station, the scene was heartbreaking as Andrea Magalhaes sat on the bench where her son was attacked, rubbing the seat and sobbing. A friend who was with him that night sat beside her.

Last Saturday evening, Gabriel Magalhaes was sitting on the bench when a man approached him and stabbed him. Police say the attack was unprovoked. Paramedics took Magalhaes to hospital, where he died of his injuries. Jordan O'Brien-Tobin, 22, of no fixed address, has been charged with first degree murder

At the vigil, mourners set off from the main gates of High Park shortly after 8 p.m., and walked along Bloor Street West to Keele station. They left burning candles and flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the station.

Magalhaes was a "beautiful, sweet, sweet boy" — a hard-working student who had dreams of attending university for astrophysics, his mother Andrea Magalhaes told CBC Radio's As It Happens earlier in the week.

"He was very family oriented. He was not like your typical teenager with attitude. He would hug me in front of his friends," Magalhaes said on Monday. "I just cannot believe that his life was cut short."

The teen's death has shocked the city.

On Thursday, city council granted a request by the TTC to withdraw up to $15 million from its reserve fund for emergency spending. The money will be spent to increase security on the transit system, according to TTC CEO Rick Leary.

According to a report released by the TTC last month, there were 1,068 violent incidents against customers in 2022 and violent incidents against customers rose 46 per cent last year, compared to 2021.

Magalhaes is the third person to be die in and around the TTC since last summer.

Vanessa Kurpiewska, 31, was fatally stabbed at High Park station in an unprovoked attack on Dec. 8.  A 37-year-old woman was also injured in that attack. Neng Jia Jin, 52, has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. 

Nyima Dolma, 28, of Toronto, was set on fire on a TTC bus at Kiping station on June 17. She died in hospital days later. Tenzin Norbu, 33, was arrested nearby and has been charged with first-degree murder, among other charges.