Mother of teen killed outside school speaks out as police arrest one teen

“I can’t sleep at night,” says the mother of a teen who was stabbed to death earlier this week outside a Montreal school.

Charla Dopwell the mother of 16-year-old Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, spoke with CityNews and explained what she’s been told by police and says she hopes the police find who killed her son.

“They said ‘stay where you are, we’re coming to get you’… I said’ what’s wrong?’… they said my son was hurt, he’s been stabbed and he’s serious and in the hospital. And I was a mess after that,” she explained.

Earlier in the week, Dopwell-Bailey, 16, was stabbed to death outside Programme Mile End alternative high school in Cote-des-Neiges, in Montreal’s west end.

READ MORE: Three suspects sought after Montreal teenager stabbed outside his school

“My son is a good person. His name is Jannai. He was born… Oh, my Lord… He came into this world on Nov. 14, 2004. A very, very, very beautiful handsome adorable baby, which he still is. He blossomed into a beautiful, handsome man. My son is very affectionate. He loves his mother. He always hugs and kisses me.”

#WATCH
“It’s not easy for a mother to lose her child.”
Charla Dopwell, the mother of Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, the 16-year-old student who was stabbed to death during a fight outside his school on Monday, says she wants justice for her son. #Montreal pic.twitter.com/B1iEnlH8fk

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) October 22, 2021

“I would like the police to work hard and investigate, and find out exactly who brutally murdered my son. That’s what I would like from the police, from the mayor, and put them on trial. That’s what I would like. Because it’s not easy for a mother to lose a child,” explained Dopwell.

WATCH: Grieving Montreal mother wants justice for her murdered son

Friday, Montreal police arrested and charged one person in connection to the death of Jannai Dopwell-Bailey.

SPVM said a 16-year-old was arrested and faces charges of conspiracy and second-degree murder.

Montreal police said the victim was stabbed in the upper body during an altercation involving a group of young people at about 3 p.m. on Monday, in the Cote-des-Neiges neighbourhood.

SPVM is still looking for two more suspects related to Dopwell-Bailey’s death.

A vigil for Dopwell-Bailey will take place on Friday outside his school.

Vigil poster made by the Dopwell-Bailey family.

#New Vigil honouring Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, after he was fatally stabbed on Monday, is getting underway outside starting at Programme Mile End.#EndViolence

Photo credit: Juliette Palin pic.twitter.com/7MJhMIlGgV

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) October 22, 2021

“Everybody wants to know when is the burial, I haven’t even seen the body of my son.

“I would like them to remember him very mannered, very respectful, very loving. He was a good guy, he was a good kid. He loved life.”

– With files from Toula Drimonis and Brittany Henriques and the Canadian Press