An Oakville teenager has been charged with second-degree murder in a deadly street brawl on a quiet Brampton street Saturday night.
Sujenthan Ramanathan, 18, was arrested by Peel homicide detectives overnight Monday and was scheduled to appear in court this morning. His 46-year-old mother, Kohilavanee Ramanathan, and two brothers, Arjenthan Ramanathan, 20, and Sajenthan Ramanathan, 18, (a fraternal twin) were also arrested overnight. They are facing charges of being accessories after the fact. They are all Oakville residents.
Amrinder Singh Atwal, 19, of Brampton died of a single stab wound to the torso, a post mortem revealed Monday.
Police say their investigation has revealed only one of the many young people involved in the fight stabbed both Atwal and another young man who was treated and released from hospital. However, they are still looking for others who were involved in the street brawl as either witnesses or possible assault suspects.
Peel Homicide Insp. Norm English said a close friend of Sujenthan Ramanathan was at one time a schoolmate of Atwal at Bramalea Secondary School. Police today are trying to track down that friend, who they say was also at the party.
English said it was a long-simmering "immature" feud dating back a few years that sparked the fight.
There were at least 20 youth on the street at the time, although how many were actually fighting differs "depending on who you talk to," English said.
There were two dozen or more young people between the ages of 19 and 21 at what started out as a barbecue at a house on Culture Crescent in the area of Chinguacousy Road and Williams Parkway. A young woman whose parents were not at home at the time was hosting the party.
At 10:15 p.m., a fight that had started among partygoers spilled out onto the street and they began hitting each other with beer bottles.
Atwal has been attending Grade 12 classes at Bramalea Secondary School, but had just dropped out last week. He was awaiting placement at a different school.
Witnesses said a handful of teens tried to administer first aid to Atwal after he was stabbed. He died in hospital a short time later.
Some of the combatants left before police arrived, others stayed, but English said investigators are interviewing those who attended the party as well as residents in the otherwise quiet neighbourhood.
Neighbour Rob Voth said he watched as two teens pinned another against a fence and threw punches as a third kicked him.
Voth, 38, said he watched another teen, later identified as Atwal, stand in the street exhorting others to fight.
"You could see his hand was up with some kind of weapon in his hand, whatever it was, ready for battle, preparing himself, like, `bring it on,'" he said. "It all happened pretty fast."
"It was something about, `You didn't like me in Grade 10,'" said Voth.
"It's not a good scene," he said, gazing across a street criss-crossed with yellow police tape. "I've only been here two years and now I'm ready to go a little further north into the country, do some home-schooling with my kids and make sure they're safe."
His wife Samantha also said they may move from the neighbourhood constructed just six years ago.
"It was mass chaos," she said. "There were people screaming. It was very scary. You don't expect something like that to happen on your front lawn."
She fought back tears as she spoke of the teen's death.
"You wake up and it's Mother's Day and you realize that a mother is without her son," she said.
The incident shook many residents on the street.
Lisa Snelgrove, a 29-year-old mother of children age 12, 10 and 8, made a snap decision.
"I called my real estate agent to put my house up for sale as soon this tape comes down," she said. She said she moved to Brampton from Rexdale "to give my kids a better life."
But she doesn't know where they'll go next to escape violence. "It's everywhere," she said.
"My daughter was in tears, crying her eyes out. They asked me if anybody died. I'm not going to lie to them," she said. "You don't want to have to explain that to any child."
No murder weapon has been found.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Peel police, Homicide Bureau, at 905-453-3311, ext. 3205, or Peel Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
With files from Torstar News Service
Sujenthan Ramanathan, 18, was arrested by Peel homicide detectives overnight Monday and was scheduled to appear in court this morning. His 46-year-old mother, Kohilavanee Ramanathan, and two brothers, Arjenthan Ramanathan, 20, and Sajenthan Ramanathan, 18, (a fraternal twin) were also arrested overnight. They are facing charges of being accessories after the fact. They are all Oakville residents.
Amrinder Singh Atwal, 19, of Brampton died of a single stab wound to the torso, a post mortem revealed Monday.
Police say their investigation has revealed only one of the many young people involved in the fight stabbed both Atwal and another young man who was treated and released from hospital. However, they are still looking for others who were involved in the street brawl as either witnesses or possible assault suspects.
Peel Homicide Insp. Norm English said a close friend of Sujenthan Ramanathan was at one time a schoolmate of Atwal at Bramalea Secondary School. Police today are trying to track down that friend, who they say was also at the party.
English said it was a long-simmering "immature" feud dating back a few years that sparked the fight.
There were at least 20 youth on the street at the time, although how many were actually fighting differs "depending on who you talk to," English said.
There were two dozen or more young people between the ages of 19 and 21 at what started out as a barbecue at a house on Culture Crescent in the area of Chinguacousy Road and Williams Parkway. A young woman whose parents were not at home at the time was hosting the party.
At 10:15 p.m., a fight that had started among partygoers spilled out onto the street and they began hitting each other with beer bottles.
Atwal has been attending Grade 12 classes at Bramalea Secondary School, but had just dropped out last week. He was awaiting placement at a different school.
Witnesses said a handful of teens tried to administer first aid to Atwal after he was stabbed. He died in hospital a short time later.
Some of the combatants left before police arrived, others stayed, but English said investigators are interviewing those who attended the party as well as residents in the otherwise quiet neighbourhood.
Neighbour Rob Voth said he watched as two teens pinned another against a fence and threw punches as a third kicked him.
Voth, 38, said he watched another teen, later identified as Atwal, stand in the street exhorting others to fight.
"You could see his hand was up with some kind of weapon in his hand, whatever it was, ready for battle, preparing himself, like, `bring it on,'" he said. "It all happened pretty fast."
"It was something about, `You didn't like me in Grade 10,'" said Voth.
"It's not a good scene," he said, gazing across a street criss-crossed with yellow police tape. "I've only been here two years and now I'm ready to go a little further north into the country, do some home-schooling with my kids and make sure they're safe."
His wife Samantha also said they may move from the neighbourhood constructed just six years ago.
"It was mass chaos," she said. "There were people screaming. It was very scary. You don't expect something like that to happen on your front lawn."
She fought back tears as she spoke of the teen's death.
"You wake up and it's Mother's Day and you realize that a mother is without her son," she said.
The incident shook many residents on the street.
Lisa Snelgrove, a 29-year-old mother of children age 12, 10 and 8, made a snap decision.
"I called my real estate agent to put my house up for sale as soon this tape comes down," she said. She said she moved to Brampton from Rexdale "to give my kids a better life."
But she doesn't know where they'll go next to escape violence. "It's everywhere," she said.
"My daughter was in tears, crying her eyes out. They asked me if anybody died. I'm not going to lie to them," she said. "You don't want to have to explain that to any child."
No murder weapon has been found.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Peel police, Homicide Bureau, at 905-453-3311, ext. 3205, or Peel Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
With files from Torstar News Service
