Community members gathered this evening to honour the life of eight-year-old JahVai Roy, who was killed by a stray bullet while he was in bed with his family.
The boy’s name echoed around the Toronto apartment building he once called home as community leaders and advocates promised to never forget him.
His mother, Holly Roy, says she hopes everyone knows her son’s name as she reflects on the last happy memories she had with JahVai and his “energetic spirit.”
Toronto police said a stray bullet from a shooting outside entered the residence around 12:30 a.m. last Saturday, killing the boy. Bullets also entered two other units, but no one else was injured.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Coun. Frances Nunziata, who represents the neighbourhood, also attended the vigil and pledged to address gun violence.
A rally against gun violence is also expected to take place tomorrow in front of Toronto City Hall.
Marcell Wilson, a friend of the family, has described JahVai as a “genuinely good, happy, compassionate, kind, curious child,” who always made sure to look after his mom and his two siblings.
“He was the type of boy that wanted to climb a tree, or if there was a bird or something, he’d want to pick it up and touch it,” Wilson said in an interview Tuesday. “He was fearless.”
A GoFundMe page launched in response to the boy’s death has also raised almost $75,000 to help the family with funeral expenses, relocation costs and trauma counselling.
Community advocates have said they hope the deadly shooting acts as a wake-up call to spark community and government action against gun violence.
“We don’t want to see another JahVai Roy, ever. So let this be the last. And the only way this can be the last is that we all work together,” Wilson said.
