Based on coverage from CBC, Global News, and The Star.
Toronto’s police watchdog has been called in after a man suspected in a stabbing died Friday morning in St. James Town, following what police and investigators describe as a fall from an apartment balcony.
Toronto police say officers were responding to a stabbing inside an apartment building in the city’s east end when the suspect tried to flee. Shortly after, police learned the man had fallen and was pronounced dead at the scene.
St. James Town stabbing draws SIU probe
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says it has invoked its mandate and is investigating the circumstances around the death. The SIU is the provincial agency that investigates incidents involving police where someone dies or is seriously injured.
The SIU says it has assigned three investigators and two forensic investigators to the case, and is asking anyone with information to contact the agency, including people who may have photos or video.
What Toronto police say happened Friday
Police were called to a building near Sherbourne Street and St. James Avenue around 11 a.m. for reports of a stabbing. Another Toronto police account described the location more specifically as near Bleecker Street and St. James Avenue.
According to Toronto police spokesperson Ashley Visser, officers arrived and found a man who had been stabbed. While officers were tending to the victim, they were notified that the person believed to be responsible was trying to escape.
Officer Shannon Eames, in an emailed statement cited in one report, said: “As the suspect was attempting to flee, he was involved in an accident and has been pronounced deceased at the scene.” Police did not provide further details on what that “accident” involved.
Victim taken to hospital, condition stable
Paramedics confirmed they treated an adult with stab wounds roughly 20 minutes after the initial call. The injured person was taken to hospital.
Across the reports, the victim’s condition is described as serious but stable, and later as stable. One account also notes paramedics assessed a second person at the scene, though there are no further details about that person’s condition.
Police also said early on that the stabbing was believed to be a targeted incident.
What the SIU says about the balcony fall
The SIU’s description focuses on a brief interaction before the fall. The watchdog says officers knocked on the door of an apartment unit and spoke with a man inside through the door. A short time later, police learned he had fallen from a balcony to the ground below.
The SIU and one police account say first aid was provided, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The SIU identified the deceased as a 52-year-old man.
Police initially said they couldn’t provide a description of the suspect, but later confirmed the person who died was believed to be the suspect in the stabbing.
Unconfirmed relationship details circulate
Global News reported additional details suggesting the stabbing victim is a 54-year-old man and that the suspect may be his younger brother, based on information from someone who identified themselves as the victim’s ex-girlfriend. Those details have not been independently confirmed by Toronto police or the SIU.
For now, the confirmed pieces are limited: one person was stabbed and hospitalized, and the person believed to be the suspect died after a fall from a balcony during the police response. The SIU investigation will determine what happened in the moments leading up to the fall and whether police actions were a factor.
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