Police in the area east of Toronto have taken a 14-year-old boy into custody and have lifted a shelter-in-place order following a “sadistic and cowardly” stabbing that resulted in a woman’s death in a Pickering, Ont., neighborhood.
At approximately 5:40 p. m. on Thursday, law enforcement issued an emergency alert urging residents near 2125 Lynn Heights Dr. in Pickering to stay indoors.
This alert was prompted by a stabbing incident around 3 p. m., where an elderly woman was attacked by a male suspect whom she did not know. The woman was quickly transported to a trauma center in the Toronto region but unfortunately died from her injuries.
Durham Regional Police Chief Peter Moreira mentioned that they had no information regarding the motive behind the attack, labeling it as “sadistic and cowardly.”
For several hours post-arrest, police stated they hadn’t yet apprehended the suspect nor were they aware of his location. They advised residents to remain indoors since he had fled on foot and was still armed.
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The emergency alert led to announcements that the City of Pickering would close its community centers, libraries, and other facilities during the shelter-in-place order.
The city noted, “All scheduled City programs and classes are also cancelled until further notice,” in a brief statement.
<p Around 8:45 p. m., roughly three hours after issuing the emergency alert and nearly six hours after the initial attack, police confirmed that they had arrested a young teenager.
“We’re announcing that we’ve arrested a 13-year-old male from Pickering and he’s been arrested by our tactical support unit without incident,” Chief Moreira informed reporters.
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“I want to thank the members of our community for sheltering in place and doing exactly what we asked them to do. At this point here, you can go freely about your day-to-day lives.”
The police updated the accused’s age to 14 on Friday after his court appearance.
Moreira stated that the arrest was made possible due to numerous officers from his force along with support from Toronto police and Ontario Provincial Police. He added that investigations were ongoing regarding charges following this arrest.
Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe described the stabbing as “a shocking day in our city” which would impact everyone nearby.
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“The randomness is shocking, but by and large, we are a safe community,” he said. “We have an excellent police service here in our region. We have very robust eyes on the street, road watches, community watches.”
The chief mentioned that investigators still believed this attack was random with no established connections thus far.
“As you can appreciate, that investigation has just really started in earnest,” Moreira said.
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Moreira shared with reporters that video captured during the attack exists; however, locating the suspect has been difficult due to extensive search areas involved.
The stabbing occurred at the edge of a small subdivision located in northwest Pickering. Next to where police tape is set up is an expansive woodland area without any roads while above it stands a large transformer station.
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The Durham police mentioned they searched through various methods including helicopters, drones, K9 units, and tactical teams within this area.
The issuance of an emergency alert both inside and outside of Pickering is quite rare for incidents involving stabbings or homicides according to police statements.
<P before confirming arrest Moreira indicated he chose to issue this alert out of caution since there were uncertainties about both suspect whereabouts and motivations behind this act.
“The information as investigations unfold often suggests motives or points towards specific individuals or reasons why things happen,” he said.
>>“<And I didn't want<to leave anything<to chance; thus<we took some unusual steps today bringing out necessary resources."
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"0:52 Police issue ‘shelter in place’ emergency alert after stabbing in Pickering , Ont. " © 2025 , division Corus Entertainment Inc.
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