On Friday morning, the halls of Mississauga Secondary School were abuzz about a strange message a Grade 12 student left on his Facebook page: in it, he bid goodbye to the world and several of his friends, including a girl named Kiranjit Nijjar whom he was particularly close.
By the end of the day, Ms. Nijjar lay dead in a ravine, the boy was fighting for his life in hospital and police were preparing to charge him with killing the girl described as his best friend.
Shortly after 10 a.m., the boy, 16, fell from a Mavis Road overpass onto Highway 401 and was struck by a car. He was taken to a Toronto trauma centre with life-threatening injuries.
Then, over the lunch hour, police officers investigating the incident discovered 17-year-old Ms. Nijjar's body in the underbrush off nearby Spinnaker Circle. As they secured the area, students gathered behind yellow tape at the entrance to the site.
They said "Kiran," as they knew her, used to spend a lot of time with the boy, and both were in the same grade. Samra Grewal described the pair as regular teens. He said Ms. Nijjar had "quite a few friends."
"It's just confusing," the 17-year-old said of the situation.
But while many knew them, none could fathom what had happened.
"It's like a big question mark," said Vishant Patel, 18, who came down with his friends after hearing about what had happened on the news. "This area is so quiet. I've never seen anything like this here."
Police say the 16-year-old, who cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is a suspect in Ms. Nijjar's death, but he must be treated before he can be brought before a court and formally charged. They would not say exactly how Ms. Nijjar is believed to have been killed or what led up to the death.
Adding to the mystery, officers were also investigating a public washroom near a tennis court a block away. It was secured by yellow tape and a cruiser sat parked outside.
As the afternoon and evening wore on, police canvassed the area and worked near the body, residents came out of their homes and students huddled in groups of five or 10 along the cul-de-sac of large red brick homes hugging the ravine.
"Obviously, we're really upset, for something like this to happen in our area," said one girl who, like many at the scene, declined to give her name, citing a directive from the school not to talk about the incident.
Two bunches of roses, one white, one pink, were left at the base of a tree near the entrance to a small parkette leading to the ravine.
Shortly before 7 p.m., a hearse pulled into the site to remove the body.
Neha Desai, who lives a few houses away, said area residents were shocked by the events. She said students often gather in the park during their lunch break.
"It's a pretty quiet and nice area," she said. "Our kids take the school bus right from there so it's scary for us."
Adrian Morrow