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[William Tinker]

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This e-mail has been sent to you by William Tinker(wtinker@fcgnetworks.net)=
 from the
globeandmail.com Web Centre.

Message: Why is there so much violence in the world now?Is this a socialogi=
cal problem or is it a sign that we must take control of our destiny and co=
mmit ourselves to educating the educators?=0D
Give some input people!Bill

The Globe and Mail, Saturday, February 12, 2000

Shooting not random, police contend
  Say schoolyard ambush was meant to settle a grudge in dispute between tee=
nagers
By Timothy Appleby


Toronto -- A blaze of gunfire at a northwest-Toronto high school on Thursda=
y that left three teens wounded was no random act of mayhem, police said ye=
sterday. Rather, it appears to have occurred during an ambush to settle a g=
rudge.

A charge of attempted murder was laid against one of the wounded teens. An =
arrest warrant was issued for a second young man.

But few seemed reassured the danger had faded. As politicians and school bo=
ard officials scrambled to voice ideas for making schools safer, the phones=
 at Emery Collegiate Institute were ringing off the hook with calls from wo=
rried parents.

One of the three shooting victims, a 17-year-old school dropout, was arrest=
ed at York-Finch General Hospital yesterday, where he was treated for an el=
bow wound, and charged with attempted murder. Two others were more seriousl=
y wounded, though both were expected to recover.

The young man sought under the arrest warrant was seen fleeing the scene cl=
utching a silver-coloured handgun.

One of the two still in hospital is 18-year-old Emery student Andy Huynh, d=
escribed by 17-year-old classmate Zaid Mahmood as an exemplary student. Mr.=
 Huynh, shot once in the abdomen, is believed to have no role in what polic=
e called an ongoing dispute between the others.

"He was a straight-A student and basically he got caught in the crossfire,"=
 Sergeant Lorna Kozmik said.

Mr. Huynh apparently jumped in front of several girls in the line of fire, =
said Judy Sgro, MP for York West, and he's regarded locally as a hero.

The third victim, who is 17 and who was shot several times in the chest, on=
ce through the lung, is regarded as a possible suspect, police said.

However neither he nor Mr. Huynh, who were in serious but stable condition =
at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre yesterday, had been interviewed.

While they did not name either of them, school board officials said the wou=
nded 17-year-olds were both former Emery students; neither is enrolled at a=
ny Toronto school.

The identity of the gunman still being sought was uncertain, and police rel=
eased only a vague description.

"Investigators have an idea who he is but they're not sure," Sgt. Kozmik sa=
id. "When they get to interview the guys at Sunnybrook, perhaps we'll get m=
ore information."

Also unclear was which of the other three people the arrested 17-year-old -=
- who is charged with attempted murder and with discharging a firearm with =
intent -- is alleged to have been trying to kill.

"That's of an evidentiary nature and the investigators are not prepared to =
release that, until they sort it all out," Sgt. Kozmik said.

There were conflicting accounts of how the fugitive fled. A witness was quo=
ted as saying he sped away in a car, but police offered no description of a=
ny vehicle.

A police source said the incident appears to have resulted from an ambush, =
directed at one person as he walked toward the school from the side parking=
 lot shortly after 3:30 p.m.

Much of what happened was captured by a rooftop video-surveillance system o=
f 64 cameras, installed four years ago to protect Emery's computer equipmen=
t after a rash of thefts. It is the first such system in a Toronto high sch=
ool.

As investigators scrutinized one of the videotapes, they emphasized their v=
iew that the shootings stemmed from an earlier altercation.

"We don't know exactly how the dispute started but one of the things we wan=
t to stress is that this is not a random shooting," Sgt. Rob Swann of nearb=
y 31 Division said. "All the people involved have attended the school, but =
the shooting itself was not directly tied to the school. . . . This shootin=
g appears to be [the] result of a previous dispute involving two of the thr=
ee victims."

An Emery student who requested anonymity said there had been a fight near t=
he school earlier in the day.

But he said the problem could have happened anywhere and he didn't feel uns=
afe at the school. "It all depends on what crowd you hang out with."

About 1,000 regular students attend the sprawling brick-and-glass collegiat=
e, which was built in 1965. Close to twice that many adults attend its adjo=
ining Emery Adult Learning Centre.

There was no school yesterday for the collegiate's high-school students bec=
ause of a citywide professional-development day. Crisis counsellors were on=
 hand for students or parents wanting to talk and they will also be at the =
school on Monday.




Copyright 1999 The Globe and Mail

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