He won't tell you his name and we won't show you his face. But he's scared and very lucky to be alive. He's the would-be victim that was the subject of an alleged
robbery attempt at Bendale Business and Technical Institute on Tuesday that left a teenager shot and a school in lockdown for hours.
The 16-year-old was sitting on a bench in a park area behind the campus just before the noon hour when four teens came up to him. What happened next would make headlines and raise alarm bells across the city and leave the young victim locked in a life and death struggle for control of a deadly weapon.
"Four guys came up to us asking if we have any weed," he told
CityNews in an exclusive TV interview. "And I said 'no' ... And then he showed me the gun ... And then I just tackled him to the ground."
The teen decided his best defence was a risky offence and he began battling with his attacker for the firearm.
"His stuff went on the ground," he remembers. "And he shot off two times and then he asked his friend for help ... And then the guy came and kicked me in the back.
"I was on the ground and I was scuffling with him and ... we were just rolling around and he just busted a shot and I guess one of them hit ... my schoolmate."
But one thing stands out more than any other from his frightening encounter - the barrel of that weapon.
"While they were firing off shots, my ears were ringing. My eyes were just basically on the gun ...
I didn't want it to point at me in any way, so I was just holding it down."
The teen claims he didn't even know anyone was shot and was heading back to class when he went back to retrieve the cell phone he lost in the fight. That's where police found him and he first realized a bullet that was apparently intended for him hit one of the alleged robbers.
The end result: a 16-year-old in hospital charged in the robbery, an 18-year-old facing similar accusations and police apparently hunting for at least two other suspects.
The intended victim says he'd never seen any of his assailants before and thinks they might be new to the school. He remembers thinking that the person holding the gun was so young, the weapon actually looked bigger than his hand.
He ran away after one of the attackers suffered the bullet wound and hasn't been back since. And he doesn't want to set foot in Bendale again.
The anonymous teen admits he'd like to return to school but feels 'uncomfortable' and 'scared,' and hopes to continue his education somewhere - anywhere - else.
His lawyer is trying to make that happen. "We have to make sure that he's safe and make sure his family is safe," assures Selwyn Peiters.
His mother confirms she's considering moving her family out of the neighbourhood over fears of retaliation.
The young teen's final goal: put the most frightening day of his life behind him forever.
But with the case against the two accused still pending and two others still potentially out there, he knows it won't be an easy task.