Homeless man in Canada stabbed to death by 8 teen girls in ‘swarming’ attack

Ken Lee, 59, was named on Tuesday as the victim of a murder. He was fatally stabbed on a cold night in mid-December.

Eight teenage girls, aged between 13 and 16, are believed to have stabbed Lee at a plaza near the main rail station in Canada’s largest city in the early hours of December 18.

Lee had recently been living in a homeless shelter.

Police have said they believe Lee may have been attacked because he was spotted carrying alcohol, reported BBC. He later died in hospital.

The girls are currently facing second-degree murder charges. Their identities are protected under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Investigators believe the teens involved in the attack met on social media and came from various parts of the city, but said it was still unclear why they met that evening.

Police said they were looking for victims of a group of up to 10 girls who allegedly assaulted several people at public transit stations in the hours before the attack on Lee.

Police did not say the attacks are connected to the fatal stabbing, but law enforcements sources told Canadian media that the girls are suspects in the assaults.

The attack on Lee shocked the city, with Toronto Mayor John Tory saying he was “deeply disturbed” by the case.

Lee’s name was added on Tuesday to the Toronto Homeless Memorial, maintained by the Church of the Holy Trinity near the city centre.

Doug Johnson Hatlem, a street pastor who works with the homeless community in Toronto, said he did not know Lee personally, he knew many who did. “People called him Kenny. He was known to be very gentle and kind,” he was quoted by BBC as saying.