Southeast London neighbourhood shaken after teens charged in fatal weapons fight

Residents of a southeast London neighbourhood say they're trying to piece together what could have led to a violent incident that left a 27-year-old man dead and two teen boys charged with second-degree murder over the weekend.

Police say they found a man with serious life-threatening injuries in the area of Breton Park Crescent and Manitoulin Drive, near Fairmont Park, at around 1:40 a.m. on Sunday, after receiving multiple 911 calls from neighbours about a group of people fighting with weapons.

"Basically, a whole bunch of police cars and noise swarmed the neighbourhood, and I didn't see it until the next morning when I went out and all the neighbours were gathered around and they had the area cordoned off," said Chris Rawlings, who has lived on Breton Park Cres. for almost 60 years.

"It's been pretty strange, not something that's happened around here, so it's a pretty rare occurrence for this street. You don't hear about [these incidents] very often."

The victim was taken to hospital, where he later died. A 15-year-old boy and 17-year-old boy, both from London, were arrested and jointly charged with second-degree murder in the case, police said. The pair cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

It's not clear how or if the parties were known to each other. CBC News went to the area on Tuesday where several neighbours said they witnessed a group of young men fighting outside a house on Manitoulin Drive, but didn't know much about the individuals involved.

"It was a fairly young group of people who lived at the house," said Rawlings. "They kept to themselves. I'd walk my dogs past them and say, 'Hi,' and there were no problems."

Sherri Hornblower lives a few doors down from Rawlings, and although she and her family weren't in town over the weekend, the mom of two young sons said she was shocked to learn that teenagers were charged in the incident.

"It's very sad and terrifying to know it happened just a few doorsteps away from us. In the nine years we've lived here, there's never been anything like that," said Hornblower.

"It's very concerning, and we're worried for [our kids'] safety, because they walk around and ride their bikes out and about, but since this happened, we are more hesitant in letting them out."

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident, any suspicious activity, or has surveillance or dashcam video from the area at the time to contact them or Crime Stoppers.

"Even the smallest piece of information could be vital to this investigation," police said.

The accused were scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hornblower and other neighbours said they're anxiously awaiting more information on what happened.