Montreal Mother of stabbed 14-Year-Old speaks out against gender-based violence
Posted October 23, 2025 10:23 am.
Last Updated October 23, 2025 5:54 pm.
The mother of a 14-year-old girl who was seriously injured in a stabbing outside a Montreal high school earlier this month is speaking publicly for the first time, calling for stronger action to prevent gender-based violence.
At a press conference Thursday morning at the Filipino Associations of Montreal and Suburbs (FAMAS) building, Ping — who asked that only her first name be used — said her daughter was attacked after repeatedly rejecting a teenage boy’s romantic advances.
“I’m speaking out today because we have to speak out against gender-based violence,” Ping said. “We must not be silent or silenced by it. We must not stay indifferent to it, and we will not allow gender-based violence to violate our safety, our dignity, our freedom, and our lives.”
Attack outside Saint-Luc school
Montreal police say the incident occurred around 9 a.m. on Oct. 7 on Terrebonne St. between West Broadway Ave. and Westmore Ave., near École secondaire Saint-Luc and its annex at 7315 Terrebonne St. in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG) borough.
In a press release the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) says that Ping’s daughter was reportedly surprised to see a 17-year-old boy waiting outside the school. Without warning, the boy allegedly lunged at her, punching and stabbing her repeatedly.
“She repeatedly screamed ‘I’m sorry’ while covering her body from the assault,” CRARR said in the statement. “Fortunately, her backpack protected her from other injuries.”
A school employee heard her screams and rushed to open the door to let her in. “As she was bleeding profusely from her face, the boy left,” CRARR said.
According to the SPVM, the 14-year-old girl was found with a serious injury to her upper body caused by a sharp object. She was taken to hospital in shock, but her injuries were not life-threatening. Reports suggest she sustained deep cuts above and below one eye and nearly lost its use.
The 17-year-old boy — who had previously attended the same school but transferred elsewhere last summer — was arrested later that day at another school in the Sud-Ouest borough. He has been charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon. The accused, who cannot be named because he is a minor, remains detained for a psychiatric evaluation. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 3 in Youth Court.
‘She’s still in a nightmare‘
At the press conference, Ping described how her daughter continues to suffer both physically and emotionally from the attack.
“She’s still in the nightmare, and she doesn’t want to go back to school because of that happening,” Ping said. “Sometimes she has blurry vision … she has a fracture under here, a little bit. So the hospital is watching that.”
Ping said her daughter underwent surgery on her right eye and continues to see specialists, including an eye doctor, plastic surgeon, and infectious disease team.
“When the ambulance came, she covered her eyes, shouting, ‘He’s there, he’s going to attack me again. I’m scared, I’m scared,’” Ping recalled.
Ping, who works as a cook at a daycare, has been unable to return to work since the incident as she cares for her daughter and manages medical and legal paperwork.
Reports of ongoing harassment before attack
Ping said the victim had told several teachers about the boy’s unwanted advances in the months before the attack.
“It started in December of 2024,” Ping said, explaining that the boy repeatedly expressed romantic interest and followed her daughter around the school. “She said, ‘No, I’m young, I want to study more, I’m not ready for a boyfriend.’ She so many times rejected him but the boy doesn’t accept the rejection.”
Community Response
Several community and women’s organizations attended the press conference to show support for the family, including the Federation of Filipino Associations of Quebec, Canadian Council of Muslim Women – Montreal Chapter, Women Aware, the Montreal Council of Women, the Black Community Resource Center and FAMAS.
Charla Dopwell, the mother of 16-year-old Jannai Dopwell-Bailey — who was fatally stabbed near another NDG school in 2021 — also spoke in solidarity.
“I’m very sorry, I’m sorry this happened to you, but thank God she’s here with,” Dopwell told Ping. “Unfortunately, my son is not with me, and it’s very sad.”
Dopwell said the ongoing violence near schools has left many parents in NDG fearful.
“It’s very bad I still live with this paranoia in my head all the time,” she said. “Every day I have to pass there to go to my job every day.”
‘We are not alone’
Ping said she hopes her daughter’s experience will raise awareness and help prevent similar acts of violence.
“I want to let the world know that people who like me and my daughter need to speak up and don’t be silent and don’t be afraid,” she said. “There are people who will help us — we are not alone.”
CRARR executive director Fo Niemi called on governments to strengthen protections and support for victims of gender-based violence.
“We need to do more to make crime victims’ support more adequate for victims of gender-based violence, and to encourage the law to recognize femicide and gender-based hate as aggravating factors in sentencing.”
CRARR has launched a fundraising campaign to help cover expenses for Ping’s family. For more information click here to contact them.
“Right now we’re just looking at providing support for the daughter and the social worker, helping with the psychosocial support, is looking at the educational arrangements, either homeschooling or looking transferred to another school. But what we know, it’s going to be very difficult for her psychologically to go back to that school. She misses her friends,” said Niemi.
