LAVAL -- A 16-year-old boy was charged with second-degree murder, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, after a violent altercation on Wednesday in a Laval park where a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death.
The charges were laid Friday afternoon in the Youth Chamber at the Laval courthouse.
The two boys were described as best friends, and the parents of the accused were visibly distraught in the courtroom when they saw their son being led into court.
"They were best friends... How could all of this degenerate and become so oddly violent?" asked defence attorney Normand Hache. "We can only pinpoint all of those films with violence that go on and on, and the fact that they present all of those actors in those films as supermen - they can do whatever, and they can still go back and survive. In real life, one hit with a knife is sufficient to take a life."
The law prohibits naming the accused because he is a minor.
Police said a fight broke out among a group of youth for an unknown reason around 8 p.m. Wednesday in Fabreville, prompting neighbours in the mostly residential area to call 911.
Laval police said Thursday the victim died in hospital after the altercation on Wednesday evening.
Sgt. Genevieve Major said the suspect was treated for minor injuries at a hospital before being questioned by investigators.
Neither the victim or the suspect were known to police.
The crown said on Friday that there was no indication it would ask for an adult sentence for the 16-year-old were he found guilty.
A youth sentence for second degree murder carries a maximum sentence of seven years, four of which must be spent in custody, three in the community.
"We have something here that should have never happened," said Hache. "It's surprising that not even the parents were aware that there was something going on."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2020.
With files from Andrew Brennan of CTV Montreal.
