Dario Bartoli
Police are blaming an "alcohol-fuelled altercation" for the attack in a Surrey park last weekend that fatally wounded 15-year-old Dario Bartoli – a high-profile assault in a community where crime was the key issue in last month's municipal election.
The disclosure from RCMP Staff Sergeant Jennifer Pound came as the regional homicide squad continued its investigation into the incident in British Columbia's second-largest city, southeast of Vancouver.
"Early indications support the theory that this was an alcohol-fuelled altercation between two groups that turned tragic," Sgt. Pound said in a statement issued on Monday.
In a subsequent e-mail exchange, she declined to elaborate on the role of alcohol, saying police are in the "early stages" of gathering information about the matter.
Police say they received a report early Saturday of two teens, aged 14 and 15, fleeing to a South Surrey residence after being assaulted by four or five others. Dario was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries at about 10:20 a.m. Saturday.
Surrey's new mayor, Linda Hepner, described Dario's death as a "deeply upsetting incident."
"A young life was taken too soon, and out condolences as a city are extended to the Bartoli family in their time of mourning," said a statement from the mayor.
Voters went to the polls last month in a municipal election where mayoral candidates and their slates competed for support with detailed platforms for fighting crime in the city, which is growing at a rate of about 1,000 new residents a month.
Crime rates have been declining in Surrey, but the community has been alarmed over the past year by cases such as the fatal attack on hockey mom Julie Paskall outside a community arena, as well as the murder of teenager Serena Vermeersch in September. Suspects have been arrested in both cases.
Ms. Hepner and her Surrey First party, which won all eight council seats, have advanced an anti-crime program that includes adding about 100 members to the Surrey RCMP detachment, more efforts to work with youth and the deployment of community-safety officers focused on crime prevention.
Indeed, the issue of funding for the additional Mounties was on the agenda for Monday's council meeting, the first since the election.
Sgt. Pound, speaking for the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said Dario was injured in a "dynamic" scene where events unfolded quickly.
"We have yet to confirm if or what weapons were involved or the size of the suspect group. To classify this as a 'swarming' is premature."
Police have been concerned about rumour and speculation in the community and asked those with information to come forward before expressing themselves on social media.
Sgt. Pound noted that the youth "demographic" police are working with in the case tends to communicate heavily on social media.