Teen who committed axe attack gets four-month sentence

Warning: This story contains disturbing details

A teenager who attacked a 15 year old with an axe was recently sentenced to 80 days in a correctional centre as well as a period of community supervision.

The assailant, who cannot be identified due to a publication ban, pled guilty to aggravated assault, according to the B.C. Provincial Court decision.

Now 18 years old, the teen was 16 at the time of the offence.

On Nov. 10, 2021, a group of friends arrived at Burquitlam SkyTrain station. The teen was already there.

As they were walking to Safeway, the teen believed an argument was starting that connected to a previous dispute between himself and the victim.

In one statement made to the court, the teen blamed the victim and others for taking his backpack on a prior occasion. The pack contained $125 and a bag of marijuana. That assertion conflicts with the Admissions of Fact he agreed to, Judge Robin McQuillan noted.

The group was near Burquitlam station when the teen took off his backpack and removed an axe. He attacked the 15 year old from behind, striking him twice in the back of the head.

The 15 year old fell to the ground and put his hands over his head to try to protect himself. The teen kept swinging the axe and hit his victim twice more while yelling: “Don’t talk shit!”

Two of the females in the group tried to intervene but the teen swung the axe toward one of them.

After the attack, the teen grabbed his backpack and fled from the scene, climbing onto the roof of a nearby business and discarding the axe.

He called his mother who arranged for a family friend to pick him up.

He told the family friend that he: “put an axe in some kids’ head.”

Asked what he was doing with the axe, the teen either replied: “I was hunting him,” or “I was hurting him.”

Judge McQuillan explained that the word “hunting” was used in his written admission while his counsel submitted he actually said “hurting.”

The teen was arrested later that night.

The victim was rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital. Besides two skull fractures, he also suffered sliced tendons and a broken bone in his right hand.

According to his victim impact statement, he remains unable to bend his thumb and has a permanent disability because of the assault.

He also describes himself as feeling paranoid since the attack. He remains scared for his and his family’s safety, finds it difficult to focus on schoolwork and needs counselling for his anxiety and fears.

History

The teen grew up in a home filled with abuse and trauma, according to his mother’s statement to the court.

The teen’s biological father was largely absent from his life. He also regularly saw physical and emotional abuse between his mother and stepfather.

He first used alcohol at age 11 and was using opioids at 14.

He was in his early teens when started selling drugs. After his mother kicked him out of his home, he couch surfed and slept in parked vehicles.

“During that period, it appears that his drug use escalated because in December his mother found him in possession of pills and thousands of dollars,” Judge McQuillan wrote.

He eventually spent 15 days in detox, where he received a psychological assessment and was diagnosed with PTSD.

While he has a status card, the teen has: “little information regarding his Indigenous community,” according to the judgment.

His mother said he does not currently drink or take drugs.

He is currently working on Grade 11 and 12 courses and working about 30 hours per week. His mother says he also helps with his sibling and contributes financially to supporting their household.

He was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the assault, according to the judgment.

The teen said he didn’t plan the attack, “despite the fact that he was carrying an axe in his backpack,” Judge McQuillan wrote.

The teen said he wishes he’d just walked away.

Sentence

When sentencing a young person, ordering them to serve time in a correctional centre is meant to be imposed only after all other options have been considered.

Judge McQuillan noted several mitigating factors, including the teen’s guilty plea, as well as the fact he has stayed out of trouble and demonstrated a strong work ethic since the offence. The teen “has been impacted by many of the factors associated with the colonial legacy on Indigenous persons,” the judge noted.

However, McQuillan also listed several aggravating factors, including “an aspect of planning,” as well as the fact the teen attacked the victim from behind and caused injuries that could have resulted in death.

“This was a serious, unprovoked attack on a 15 year old from behind with an axe which will have long-term impacts on the victim,” Judge McQuillan wrote.

The teen is ordered to serve 80 days in custody followed by 40 days served under supervision in the community.

Any breach while under supervision could result in the rest of the sentence being served in custody.