'Our children are dying': Regent Park mourns death of boy, 15, killed in shooting

Regent Park continues to mourn after Toronto policeidentified a 15-year-old boyshot dead in the neighbourhood Tuesday afternoon.

Mackai Bishop Jackson, of Toronto, wasfound inside anapartment unit at 230 Sackville St., near DundasStreet Eastand Parliament Street. Police were called to the scene at 4:21 p.m.

"Responding officers located a boy in medical distress with obvious trauma," police said in a news release on Wednesday.

The teen was pronounced dead at the scene. Homicide detectives have taken over the case.

Some Regent Park parents have expressed concern about the local community centre being used as a shelter by those affected by the Parliament Street fire for over a month. They say if it were open, things may have turned out differently.

"Our community centre is not a shelter. It's for our children to be able to go in there and be helped," local motherSabilaMohamed told the media on Wednesday.

"If the kids had a place to go, theywouldn't be going home. They would be going to a community centre."

The city announced later on Wednesday that the Regent Park Community Centre would reopen to the public with regularly scheduled programs and permits on Monday.

'I was beside myself'

Mohamed said Jackson died in her house. She wasn't home at the time, but her son, who was good friends with Jackson, was sick and at home Tuesday.

"I just got a call. My daughter calling me,'Mom, come home. Something happened,'" she recalled."I was beside myself. Then I hear somebody died."

Const. Caroline de Kloet, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, said detectives are trying to determine what happened immediately before the shooting.

Regent Park mourns boy killed in shooting

6 years ago

Duration 0:29

Local mother Sabila Mohamed says Mackai Bishop Jackson, 16, died in her home.

Mohamed says her son is not well after the incident. She is now stressingthe need for counselling and says that the parents in Regent Park need help.

"Our children are dyingevery single day. What is the city doing about it?" she asked.

"Nobody is doing anything about it. A young boy died. Nobody is giving us any counselling nothing."

Coun. Lucy Troisi told the media just hours before it was announced that it would be reopeningthat neighbourhood access to the community centre neededto be restored and that she has been pushing every day for it to be operational again.

Troisi added that she hasn't reached out to the family yet, choosing to give the family time to grieve.

"I can't even imagine what this family is going through. All I could do is provide support," she said.

"Let them know that I'm trying my best to make sure our neighbourhood becomes a safe place for everyone again."

No suspect information is available in relation to Tuesday's shooting.

Police say officers are talking to witnesses, canvassing the building for security camera video and searching the area for evidence.

Jacksonis Toronto's 81st homicide victim of the year.

A post-mortemwill be conducted this week to determine the cause of death.