Toronto mom who lost son in subway stabbing calls for more supports for people in crisis
Andrea Magalhaes says her pain is 'unbearable,' but she feels it's important to speak out
A Toronto mother says she is feeling "unbearable" pain after her son was fatally stabbed at a TTC station on the weekend, but she is speaking out because she thinks officials need to do more to help people in crisis.
In an emotional interview with CBC Radio's As It Happens, Andrea Magalhaes said the pain of losing her son is "horrible."
Gabriel Magalhaes, 16, was stabbed while sitting on a bench at Keele subway station on Saturday. Police were called to the station shortly before 9 p.m. Magalhaes was rushed with life-threatening injuries to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Jordan O'Brien-Tobin, 22, of no fixed address, has been charged with first degree murder.
"There are no words to express the pain," Andrea Magalhaes told CBC host Nil Köksal on Monday.
"I am still numb. I can't even describe what I feel. It's the worst thing a person can ever, ever feel. I've been through pain before, but my God, this is unbearable."
You can read a transcript of the interview at the bottom of this story.
Magalhaes said she feels it is important to speak out about the senseless violence on the TTC. She said she said she hopes officials can hear the pain in her voice and she wants them to imagine "it is your child that could be murdered on the subway" when they are making decisions about whether public services deserve funding.
"I am hoping that people will raise their voices so we can be heard. More needs to be done to help people in crisis. More needs to be done so that people don't get to the point where they are in crisis," she said.
"We need more social services. We need more investment into physical and mental health. We need more supports for housing. I feel like, as things go the way they are going right now, so many people are going to be suffering the horrible pain that I am going through right now."
"Honestly, I wanted to just hide in my bed and never get up again, but I am taking every ounce of strength I have left to just get his story out there."
LISTEN | The mother of a teen boy fatally stabbed at a TTC station speaks out:
Magalhaes said she knew her son was going to Keele station that night and then she saw on the news that a man had been stabbed at the station.
She said she didn't think it was Gabriel because "he's a kid," but it was getting late, he was not coming home, he was not responding to text messages and he was not answering his phone.
"I was getting more and more anxious and afraid, but I thought, 'no, no, no, it's not going to be him.'"
At about 3 a.m., someone rang the bell and she jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. Then, she saw "two shadows through the glass door" and knew it wasn't him. The shadows were detectives.
"I knew why they were here because I read about the story by then. I knew the person had died. I knew. I opened the door and I said, 'I knew it.' I just fell on the floor."
'He had high hopes for himself'
Gabriel was a sweet, beautiful boy, "my baby," she said. He was young at heart and loving. She said he worked hard at school to overcome a learning disability. He was passionate about snow boarding and his family, she added.
"He had high hopes for himself," she said. "I just cannot believe that his life was cut short."
Andrea Magalhaes said she has a younger son, Lucas, 15, and she is trying to provide him with as much support as possible.
She said her family is receiving so much love from the people of Toronto right now.
Magalhaes's death was the city's 12th homicide this year.
The fatal stabbing is the latest in a series of violence acts on the TTC targeting transit riders and workers.
The city added extra police patrols this winter, but that measure recently ended. Now the city has announced plans to send outreach workers onto the the transit system to connect people to services.
Below is a transcript of Andrea Magalhaes' interview on As It Happens with host Nil Köksal. It has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Köksal: Gabriel Magalhaes was just sitting in a Toronto subway station on a Saturday night. Now he's gone, the victim of a random stabbing. The 16-year-old was killed as he was sitting quietly on a bench. A 22-year-old man, a stranger, has been charged with first-degree murder. Gabriel is the fourth person to be killed this year on or near the city's transit system and the ongoing violence has put many riders on edge.
Andrea Magalhaes is Gabriel's mother. We reached her in Toronto and I will warn you that this conversation is not easy to hear. Andrea, it's an extraordinary thing that you're talking to us under these circumstances. How are you doing?
Magalhaes: How am I doing? There are no words to express the pain. I am still numb. I can't even describe what I feel. It's the worst thing a person can ever, ever feel. And I've been through pain before, but my God, this is unbearable.
Köksal: I'm so sorry for your loss and your family's loss.
Magalhaes: Thank you.
Köksal: Why did you want to speak to us about Gabriel right now?
Magalhaes: I felt that it was important to get this story out there. I need people to listen and I'm hoping that people will raise their voices so we can be heard. More needs to be done to help people in crisis, more needs to be done so people don't get to the point where they are in crisis.
We need more social services, we need more investment into physical and mental health. We need more support for housing. I feel like if things keep going the way they are going right now, so many people are going to be suffering the horrible pain that I'm going through right now. Honestly, I wanted to just hide in my bed and never get up again, but I'm using every ounce of strength I have left just to get his story out there so hopefully something will be done and beautiful lives will not be wasted.
Köksal: How did you learn that it was your son — that it was Gabriel who had been stabbed at that subway station?
Magalhaes: I knew he was going to Keele [station]. He was visiting his friends. I saw it on the news that a man had been stabbed at Keele. I never thought it was Gabriel because he's a kid, he's 16 years old. But it was late. He was not coming home, he was not answering his phone, he was not really responding to my messages. I was just getting more and more anxious and afraid. But I thought, "no, no, no, it's not going to be him."
And then around 3 a.m., somebody rang the bell. I thought it was him. I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs, just to see two shadows through the glass door. And I knew it wasn't him and I knew why they were here because I read about this story. By then I knew the person had died. I opened the door and I said, "I knew it." I just fell on the floor and asked him to say it. I already knew he was dead.
Köksal: I'm so sorry.
Magalhaes: I can go on.
Köksal: You talk, Andrea, about wanting to see not just more security, but more support for people in crisis. City officials who are listening to the show, people who make these kinds of decisions — what do you want them to hear from you?
Magalhaes: I hope they can hear the pain in my voice. I hope they can realize that we're talking about human beings. We're talking about lives. In this case, we're talking about a young life that was cut so short. So when you're making decisions, when you're thinking about what deserves the money and the bottom line, right. We're talking about lives and lives that could be saved. So please imagine it's your child that could be murdered on the subway, on the street. Do the public services deserve funding or not? Should we make changes or can we just let this go on and snowball?
Köksal: Can you tell us about Gabriel, the kind of person he was?
Magalhaes: Oh my baby. He was a beautiful, sweet, sweet boy. I know he was 16, but honestly I feel like he was still so young at heart, like a little boy. He was so loving. He had his struggles. He had high, high hopes for himself. He loved physics and math. He wanted to go to university. He worked extremely hard, way harder than a regular person would work at school. He overcame a learning disability and still got good grades. He was so happy last week. He's taking math this semester. He was like, "Mommy. I got 100 per cent on my test." He was so happy and he worked really, really hard to achieve those results.
He was passionate about bouldering and snowboarding. He was very family oriented. He was not like your typical teenager with attitude. He would hug me in front of his friends. He was beautiful. I just cannot believe that his life was cut short.
Köksal: You have another son, who is 15.
Magalhaes: Yes. Lucas.
Köksal: You have to grieve and then your family has to grieve together. But how do you support him right now?.
Magalhaes: Right now we're just trying to be as close as we can — physically, emotionally. So we're having lots of conversations. I tell him to please be open, talk to me. If you don't want to talk to me, talk to anybody else. We have family over that are being very supportive, and friends.
And just hearing simple things.I saw a picture at Keele station. They are building a memorial for Gabriel there and so many people are reaching out to me. The love — it's so funny that at the same time that this is the worst moment of my life, I have never received so much love. So this community is just amazing. We are so grateful.
Köksal: You sound like a very special family and I'm so glad that you have them and your community around you, Andrea.
Magalhaes: Thank you.
Köksal: We'll all be thinking of you. Please take care.
Magalhaes: I appreciate that. Thank you.
With files from As It Happens