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On Tuesday's live stream, Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle reacted to a Toronto jury finding a teen not guilty of second-degree murder after he claimed self defence in the fatal shooting of another teen outside an east end high school.

He was also found not guilty of reckless discharge of a firearm that ultimately resulted in his own brother being struck by a bullet.

The teen, who his now 20 after the shooting occurred in 2022, testified that after coming to Canada from Iraq, he soon came to feel as though his neighbourhood had similar issues with violence, "like Iraq." 

The disturbing event occurred on Monday, October 31, 2022, during which a known enemy of the teen reportedly came to his school to confront him and lunged at him with a knife. Despite not being permitted to own a firearm at the time, the jury found his claim of self defence sufficient after he shot and killed his alleged attacker.

“I thought I was going to die ... I just wanted him to stop lunging towards me and swiping the knife," he testified, as reported by the Toronto Star.

The now 20-year-old defendant still faces an additional firearms charge as he was not authorized to own the firearm that he brought to school on that fateful day. Critics of the ruling argue this could embolden others to carry firearms under similar claims, potentially escalating violence.