When resident Laurie Smith saw something white fall to the ground outside the window of her third-floor apartment, she hoped it was a pillow. But the piercing screams that followed told her otherwise.
About five metres down were the bodies of a woman, a toddler and an infant. Nearby lay 27-year-old Jerome Stephenson, the man now charged with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of aggravated assault, two of resisting arrest and one count of attempting to disarm a police officer.
Mom, Teresa Johnson, was rushed to Sunnybrook Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while her children, Jade and Jayla -- 8-months and 2-years-old, respectively -- are in serious condition at the Hospital for Sick Children.
Neighbours claimed the family lived at the Golf Club Road apartment in Scarborough, Ont, where fighting could be heard regularly.
"A window was broken in the incident," said Staff Sgt Jim Gibson, "but a baby did not get thrown to the ground through a window."
“Let this whole situation rest,” urged a neighbour in the high rise. “This woman has been through enough.”
Time will tell the sad details of what happened on Sunday night. Meanwhile, pray for these children.
Having a love child is something of an occupational hazard for celebrities. Always has been, likely always will be.
Last week it was fresh-faced Justin Bieber facing a paternity suit after a romp with a Californian that, by her account, lasted all of 30 seconds. But if British actor Hugh Grant is anything to go by, it's the ability to handle scandal that ultimately makes the man.
And Grant knows of what he speaks. After being caught with a prostitute back in 1995, instead of denying or not commenting on allegations, Grant openly acknowledged on Leno that he'd "made a mistake."
While Bieber plans to (quite rightly) sic his lawyers on Mariah Yeater if his forthcoming DNA tests prove he's not the daddy of her 3-month-old son Tristyn, Grant has publicly rejoiced in the birth of his love child -- a daughter to actress Tinglan Hong.
Notwithstanding that he wasn't there for her birth (ironically, he attended a "Labour" party conference in Blackpool instead), let's hope Grant puts his money where his -- ahem -- manhood was and rises to the plate.
It's high time celebs learned that being a dad isn't about throwing some money at your love child; it's not the equivalent of paying off a bad debt. It's about being involved and taking responsibility for the little person you had an equal hand in creating.
Owning up is a mark of maturity. At 51 years old, let's hope Grant is ready to provide the kind of example young wipper snippers like Bieber need in their moment of controversy.
Bieber's child support hearing is scheduled for December 15.
"
In response to Rick Mercer’s recent rant and the optimistic It Get Better Campaign, another gay Canadian icon has spoken up about coming out. Former Kids in the Hall star, comedian Scott Thompson, had another message for this generation of homosexuals facing bullying from peers: grow a pair.
Instead of ignoring tormentors or turning the other cheek, Thompson insists today's youth must face bullying head on.
"The world is not kind to [gays]; it never really will be," Thompson told Pridesource.com. "The gay male is always going to be at the bottom. I believe the things that happened to me as a child scarred me terribly..."
"But you have to fight back. So much of these bullying campaigns are part of the trend that we were just talking about – the recasting of gay men as eternal victims.”
Do you agree with Thompson, i.e. that bullying can be avoided with an assertive approach? Do you think bullying today is worse than when you were a child?
Printer-friendly version