14-year-old girl killed in shooting at Mississauga apartment building

A 14-year-old girl is dead after a fatal shooting in a Mississauga apartment building Tuesday night, Peel police say.

Officers from the homicide and missing persons units are investigating after the girl was found mortally wounded inside the stairwell of the Malton-area building “where she resides with her family,” Const. Heather Cannon told the Star Wednesday.

Police arrived at the scene at around 9 pm Tuesday after receiving a call from a resident of the building in the area of ​​Darcel Avenue and Etude Drive in Mississauga.

Police located the 14-year-old girl suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

Paramedics assessed the girl at the scene, where she was pronounced dead, said Jay Szymanski, a supervisor with Peel Regional Paramedic Services.

Police are calling on the public to provide any information that might assist their investigation.

“It’s been investigated as a homicide, but (officers are) not concrete as to what happened,” Cannon told the Star, adding: “It’s very sad … I was shocked when I saw that she was 14.”

Police have not yet identified the girl.

In a Wednesday statement, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board said it was mourning the “tragic loss of life of a Grade 9 member of our Ascension of our Lord Catholic Secondary School community.”

Police ask anyone with information or who has surveillance footage or dash cam video that may have captured the moments leading up to, during, or after the incident to contact investigators at 905-453-2121 ext. 3205.

Anonymous information may also be submitted by calling Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), by visiting peelcrimestoppers.ca.

Jason Miller is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering crime and justice in the Peel Region. Reach him on email: [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @millermotionpic