Toronto police searching for 14-year-old in deadly stabbing of elderly woman

Police are searching for a 14-year-old male who is wanted after allegedly stabbing a 71-year-old woman to death in North York on Thursday.

UPDATE: Toronto Police have now arrested the suspect. A the accused is underage, his name and image have been removed from this story in order to comply with the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Victim Shahnaz Pestonji

Police are searching for a 14-year-old male who is wanted after allegedly stabbing a 71-year-old woman to death in North York on Thursday.

During a news conference on Friday, homicide investigators identified the teenage suspect and released his photo.

Due to provisions in the Criminal Code and Young Offenders Act, it is extremely rare and unusual for police to release the name and picture of a suspect still considered a minor.

However, in this case, Det. Matthew Pinfold said police were able to obtain judicial authorization to identify the suspect as he is on the run and considered to be dangerous.

The suspect is wanted for second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Shahnaz Pestonji.

According to police, the 71-year-old was loading groceries into her car in the parking lot of a commercial plaza on Parkway Forest Drive, south of Sheppard Avenue East, when she was attacked and stabbed. Pestonji was transported to the hospital but succumbed to her injuries and died.

Toronto police have speculated it was “a robbery that escalated into an attack.”

“Through reviewing the video surveillance, speaking with witnesses, and observing the person’s movements prior to the attack, we believe that the person intended to rob Mrs. Pestonji,” Pinfold noted.

The suspect remains at large and is believed to be using public tranit to travel throughout the city, he added.

The suspect is black, five-foot-seven, weighing 135 pounds with a skinny build, and was last seen wearing black pants and a black hooded sweatshirt with “New York – 555” written in white in the front. He was also seen wearing a balaclava-style face covering and carrying a black satchel.

“I want to be very clear. Do not approach this individual. He is considered dangerous,” the detective added before urging anyone who sees the suspect to call 911 immediately.