A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday night for a London, Ont., teen who died following a stabbing last week.
Breanna Broadfoot, 17, died in hospital July 18 after she was stabbed at a home on Wellesley Crescent, near Trafalgar Street and Clarke Road, two days earlier. London police have linked the case to intimate partner violence.
Police went to the home after reports of a domestic disturbance in which multiple people were stabbed. The Special Investigations Unit says that during officers’ interactions with the suspect, he was shot by police. An 18-year-old later died in hospital. The SIU is an Ontario civilian agency that investigates situations where people or hurt or die during police actions.
Broadfoot was one of two victims who was taken to hospital and remained in critical condition until her death last Friday. The other victim, a 22-year-old man, was treated and released from hospital.
The vigil, held at Ed Blake park in the city’s northeast end, featured several speakers, including London Abused Women’s Centre executive director Jennifer Dunn, London North Centre MPP Terence Kernaghan, and Dan Jennings, the father of Caitlin Jennings, who was allegedly killed by her partner in July 2023.
Hundreds of Londoners attended the vigil, with many dressed in purple to show support for women and girls affected by intimate partner violence.
Jacqueline Doxtator, who went to school with Breanna, said Breanna had an impact on everyone in the park.
“She knew a lot of people, she was really out there. It’s great to see it, honestly.”
Tavia Lapier, another of Breanna’s friends, said she had been close with her since Grade 10.
“She was really bright and funny, always making jokes in class,” Lapier said. “I found it really heartbreaking when I found out (it was intimate partner violence), because I knew she was struggling for a really long time.”
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Lucas Broadfoot, Breanna’s brother, organized the vigil. He said the massive turnout would have meant a lot to Breanna.
“I think she’d be really happy, seeing so many people here for her and showing their love and care for her,” the 15-year-old said following the candle lighting. “It really touched me seeing so many people in my community supporting me, supporting Bree.”
Ed Blake Park was picked as the location of the Vigil as it was somewhere Lucas and Breanna would play when they were younger, Lucas said.
“Bree’s always been so friendly to everyone, so I know everyone here has support and love for Bree,” he said.
On Sunday, Broadfoot’s parents posted to Facebook that her liver, heart, lungs, kidneys and pancreas had been donated to five people.
Brett Broadfoot, Breanna and Lucas’ father, thanked the trauma team at Victoria Hospital for their efforts and treatment of the family.
“They helped us through a couple of the roughest days of our absolute life, but they never stopped trying. I hope you never have to meet them,” Brett said, eliciting a few laughs from the crowd.
“Breanna was able to help others as she always wanted to do. … She saved five lives with her donations of her organs. Those five lives now have an opportunity to continue on with their families and loved ones.”
He ended his speech by asking the crowd to look out for each other and saying that if ever they see or hear someone who may need help, not to stand by.
Echoing his father’s statements, Lucas said males his age need to pick up on the signs of abuse and hold people accountable.
“As a young man, you really have to fight and realize what’s going wrong. Specifically, our age group, as most of the deaths and reasons victims are in the hospital, it’s my age,” Lucas said. “Everything that happens is terrible, nothing should be going under the radar.”
Dunn, LAWC executive director, praised Lucas, saying he’s exactly what the community needs.
“We need young men like him to stand up and speak out,” Dunn said. “Ultimately, I think they will end up being the change that we need. People need to know that this is not OK and he’s doing that.”
Broadfoot’s family has requested any donations in her memory to be sent to Victim Services of Middlesex-London.
Additional resources include the London Abused Women’s Centre (519-432-2204) and the abused women’s help line at 1-866-863-0511 or #SAFE, available anywhere in Ontario 24-7. Deaf and hard of hearing service is available 24-7 at 1-866-863-7868.