Comments: memorial on yonge

I like the upper pic. It reflects the sadness and cruelty of this event.

Posted by davidff at December 31, 2005 03:27 AM

way to go sam, amazing, these pictures almost bring a tear to my eye, so senseless.

Posted by shane j montgomery at December 31, 2005 04:12 AM

Hi, dooi is shining as an other candle.

Posted by mistralcolors at December 31, 2005 04:40 AM

This is obviously a very sad thing, but a very brave move to post these images, good documentation of a very unfortunate incident.

Posted by Andy at December 31, 2005 05:57 AM

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY SAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I look forward to 2006's amazing photos. :)

Posted by Krista at December 31, 2005 07:05 AM

My condolences. May the new year be a peaceful one for Toronto and the World alike.

Posted by PlasticTV at December 31, 2005 07:09 AM

This is very sad. It reminds me of some of the school shootings that took place. I saw this same type of scenery at the school entrence after the shooting that took place here. It can really get to you when you see it in real life.

Posted by Nate at December 31, 2005 07:14 AM

I like the black & white shot best. It's a shame that it was even there for you to capture, but you've done it extrememly well. Is it morbid to wonder if her parents would want a copy of it? It really is a beautiful image to celebrate a beautiful young woman.

Happy New Year to you and your family Sam.

Posted by Lynn R at December 31, 2005 08:27 AM

R.I.P.

Posted by J at December 31, 2005 10:27 AM

your pictures make me feel like a resident of toronto.

Posted by jackie at December 31, 2005 11:47 AM

wow. I had no idea it was this big already. Whenever I am reminded of her death it always makes my eyes tear up. Your life is just starting at 15 and she had so much to look forward to...

I hope they nail every single one of the people that were responsible for this. My city doesn't want people like them anywhere near it.

Posted by Graham at December 31, 2005 12:09 PM

A good record of a sad event. The b&w of the candles accentuates the starkness of it.

The pile of candles and flowers is odd, but speaks of the many who cared enough to come to the place and leave these things as memorial.

Hard to be artful about something like this but you present it well.

Posted by Hugh Petrie at December 31, 2005 12:10 PM

What a sad way to end the new year. This incident struck a chord with all of the GTA. It seems the gun violence is getting closer each day.

The first picture is just amazing - Sam, you've captured the very feeling of this memorial. I heard over the radio how people had begun to drop off flowers and things where the shooting happened - I didn't expect to see so much.

Wish you and your family a very happy, healthy and safe new year.

Looking forward to all the great picsture in 2006!

Posted by Khadeeja at December 31, 2005 01:01 PM

HOLY CRAP! That's an impressive amount of offerings. We need some tougher laws for criminals and better youth programs.

Posted by JELIELĀ³ at December 31, 2005 01:47 PM

So sad it took the death of a pretty young girl to make this city realize the horror of gun violence. I keep wondering what specifically makes this particular shooting more horrific than the other 72 we've had this year. There have been shootings at Yonge and Dundas this year, there was a young girl shot in the head this year and even a man shot outside a funeral. Why is it only now "enough"?

Similarly, Miller says Yonge street is "our" street. I'm also prompted to wonder if this means we've ceded Jane, Finch and Shuter to "them." Which causes one to ponder, who are "they"?

How appropriate is it that you've chosen the colours you did of the memorial. It sums up something that needs to be said.

Posted by GV at December 31, 2005 02:08 PM

agreed, i think toronto/canada needs stricter laws

even if these people get sent to jail, canadian jail isnt bad at all, theyve got 3 meals a day, and cable tv, it just isnt punishment at all for them

Posted by elias at December 31, 2005 03:00 PM

my school is close by there and i wouldn't know what to do if that happened during school time. i hope they catch whoever did this.

Posted by vanessa at December 31, 2005 03:05 PM

It is a sad thing to show these pictures on the last day of this year. Killing people is always sinless. That the year 2006 brings more positiveness to mankind.

Posted by marco from Vorden(holland) at December 31, 2005 03:06 PM

This is so sad. What a terrible waste of a life.

Posted by nogger at December 31, 2005 03:31 PM

15 is the age where self realisatrion takes place, i should know, im 15 lol ;) Kids have so much to say and do at that age, they can't wait to grow older and enjoy life and get through its hurdles, and to be killed at this age, is probably one of the worst times to have been, Rest In Peace Janie.

Posted by HOSKO02 at December 31, 2005 04:14 PM

thats a beautiful composition..
keep clicking n happy new years.. :)

Posted by prasoon at December 31, 2005 04:32 PM

So tragic. I agree with what Payam said the other day. What makes anger fatal and brutal is the weapon in someone's hand, and guns can be stopped.

Also, I understand that people need an outlet for their grief. But maybe, instead of a teddy bear for an innocent lost girl, people might put their money toward banning gun makers or providing counseling for youth who need help with their anger?

These words come from Amerika, a nation in a death grip with the gun. I pray that Canada, a haven of intelligence, peace and tolerance, will be spared.

Posted by kelly at December 31, 2005 06:37 PM

We as Canadians need to stop blaming the States for our own problems. Harsher criminal punishment and jail penalties won't end it either.

This issue needs to be address at its roots. Poverty and poor social morality are the real reason we're now dealing with the increase of gun violence. The glorification of gun play and the gangster mentality is what's feeding these youths to commit such senseless acts.

Where are the parents of these youths? why aren't we educating these kids as to the true reality of what gun violence causes? Why aren't the majority of our youths disciplined? Why do most of them feel helpless and feel they need to take matters into their own hands and resort to violence?

Guns are being sold in our streets because there is a demand for it. Just as there is a high demand for drugs. We as a city need to look at ourselves and deal with those we may know who are displaced. We also need to look into why our governing bodies aren't doing enough to curtail violence.

This is something that we need to address on all fronts. I don't have all the answers but blaming others isn't going to fix anything. Apathy isn't going to fix anything. Everyone in this city has to play a part. And we need to have important realist discussions and plan a way to address the real issues.

Posted by A Toronto Resident at December 31, 2005 07:12 PM

Nice images. I think they reflect the need people have to respond to something like this. These memorials are an effort to battle back against the impotence events like these engender. They are sad, for the incident behind them, but hopeful too for the shared sense of "rightness" (for lack of a better word) that informs them. When this whole thing plays out I think we'll find that behind this tragedy there is nothing but stupidity, ignorance and shameless economics.

Posted by Bill at January 1, 2006 03:24 AM

How very sad indeed - yet you have captured the sadness in a beautiful way, and brought dignity to an undignified event. I hope we'll never have to see pictures like these again as Toronto rises up above this tragedy with resolve.

Posted by Abe at January 1, 2006 01:06 PM

Excellent documentary Sam, Thank you!

I agree that we need less focus on blaming the US for our problems. I don't get it when Miller, et al, say the problem is the US. Are we not responsible for our own border? If a gun enters Canada illegally, is it not the fault of a Canadian customs agent, or other Canadian process designed to keep these things out?

Where does it become the fault of the US or any other country for that matter. Our politicians need to open their eyes and take responsibility for the fact the we (Canadians) are responsible for anything illegal entering our country.

--Pete

Posted by Pete at January 3, 2006 10:57 AM

this is very nice of u to let someone take a picture of ur daughters thing and let himput it on the web. that is really sad to get killed at a young age and i am 14-yrs-old and i am affraid of that everyday.

Posted by michelle at February 13, 2006 01:28 PM

i never got to visit this memorial, but i knew jane's sister and the event was a huge shock and pain on my entire neighborhood, as well as the rest of the city as evident in this photograph. it is heart warming to see that her unjustified death is recognized, and is felt by others, even those who it had no correlation with directly. this photograph really touched me.

Posted by madi at July 8, 2006 03:34 PM

I miss you a lot Jane...you will forever be in my heart, not a day goes by that I dont think about you. I wish me and you could have hung out more, and I wish you were still here. You could have done a lot in life...you could have became a doctor or something even better!! Your truely the nicest person i ever met and I wish I could say bye...I LOVE YOU!!!

Posted by Cam at July 14, 2006 04:51 PM
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