Boy, 12, charged with attempted murder after Toronto cop struck by stolen vehicle

A 12-year-old boy in Toronto is facing an attempted murder charge, after he allegedly hit a Toronto police officer with a stolen vehicle.

It’s the latest in a growing number of criminal incidents involving youths across southern Ontario, and it comes the week after two police officers were killed in the province.

In the quiet hours of the middle of the night, two police cruisers tried to stop an allegedly stolen vehicle on a bridge in east Toronto.

“…and the driver tried to flee,” said Ontario’s Police Watchdog spokesperson Kristy Denette.

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Denette says a car had been reported stolen nearby, at around 1:30 a.m., and when police believed they found it on the bridge, they tried to box it in.

“There was contact made with the vehicle and a police officer,” said Denette. “There were multiple shots fired at the vehicle by that officer.”

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says after the shooting, the vehicle was driven a short distance before the 12-year-old boy behind the wheel, along with another 12-year-old and a 13-year-old, abandoned the car and ran.

The young driver and one passenger were quickly caught.

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The driver and the officer who was hit were both injured. The SIU says the officer was later released from hospital, while the boy remains under care suffering serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

“Now, the injury could be from a bullet, could be from a graze, could be glass from the vehicle — we don’t yet know that,” said Denette.

“We’re lucky we don’t have another killed police officer,” said Clayton Campbell, the president of the Toronto Police Association.

Campbell says he’s getting frustrated with the attacks on police.

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“A 12-year-old involved in this and a 13-year-old — how are they out in the streets at this time of night in a stolen car?,” said Campbell. “It’s unacceptable and the violence we’re seeing against our members are unacceptable.”

Just last Thursday, Toronto Police Const. Marc Pinizzotto was shot and killed by a 19-year-old while serving a warrant in North York, in Toronto.

Two days prior, Ontario Provincial Police Const. Tarun Bali was killed when an 18-year-old hit him with a car in the northern Ontario community of Hearst.

It’s unclear if the Toronto officer opened fire on the bridge before or after he was struck by the young driver.

The SIU is now conducting investigations into Monday’s incident and the deaths of the two officers last week.

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