March honours 16-year-old stabbing victim Jannai Dopwell Bailey
A group marched in Cote-des-Neiges-NDG Saturday to honour Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, a 16-year-old who was fatally stabbed last month.
The group met in front of his school, Programme Mile End, where a memorial still stands.
Bailey’s friends and family remember him as a fun and loving teenager.
“A child who loved to dance, he loved rapping, he loved his family, he loved his mom,” said Bailey’s cousin, Onica John.
His family also wants to set the record straight, and make sure people know who Bailey was.
“He wasn’t in any type of gang,” said his brother, Tyrese Dopwell-Bailey. “I know because he’s black and he has dreads, automatically the media thought that he was gang affiliated.”
“He was just a little boy. A teenager figuring out life,” he added.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection with Bailey’s death and face charges of second-degree murder. One of them is 18-year-old Andrei Donet, while the other is a minor and therefore cannot be named.
Bailey’s mother says there needs to be more after school resources to prevent incidents like this one from happening in the future.
“Play basketball, play music, socialize — there’s nothing here for the youths. They are on the street,” said Charla Dopwell.
Cousin Onica John agrees.
“In Cote-des-Neiges there’s certain programs that need to be implemented to help with the young ones. Because if you leave them to just hang, they’re going eventually end up doing stuff that they’re not supposed to,” she said.
Dopwell said she met with Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante, but did not disclose any details about their interaction.
“The mayor came [to] my home and the meeting went well, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
There is hope that some good can come out of the tragedy community — but the loss will never be forgotten.
“It’s very, very sad,” said Dopwell. “I miss him. I sleep, I breathe, I eat, I think of Jannai.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.