{"id":84887,"date":"2025-08-21T00:11:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T00:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/84887\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T00:11:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T00:11:08","slug":"funeral-held-on-manitoulin-island-for-boy-killed-in-north-york-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/84887\/","title":{"rendered":"Funeral held on Manitoulin Island for boy killed in North York shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

The funeral for an eight-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet while laying in bed with his mother is being held today. <\/p>\n

A traditional funeral ceremony was held on Wednesday on Manitoulin Island for an eight-year-old boy who was fatally shot<\/a> last weekend in North York.<\/p>\n

JahVai Roy was in bed with his mom around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday when gunshots were fired outside their apartment building at 15 Martha Eaton Way, near Trethewey Drive. The boy was hit by a stray bullet and was rushed to the hospital where he later died. <\/p>\n

The shooter or shooters fled the area and still remain at-large, said police, who have yet to release any descriptive details for the suspect(s).<\/p>\n

\"\"Police search, JahVai Roy Toronto police continue to search for those responsible for the fatal shooting of eight-year-old JahVai Roy on Aug. 16 in North York. (child’s photo Supplied) <\/p>\n

Today, family members and friends along with supporters, including many from Toronto, gathered to pay their respects at the Rabbit Island Community Centre on the Wikwemikong Unceded Territory, where JahVai\u2019s mom, Holly Roy, is from. <\/p>\n

A wake for the young boy was held at the same location on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Dozens of people gathered for the boy\u2019s celebration of life, which got underway at 10 a.m. This traditional Indigenous ceremony included a feast, drumming, and sage burning.<\/p>\n

Many of those in attendance were clad in colourful ribbon skirts, which are typically worn at indigenous funerals and memorials in honour of the deceased and to show grief. <\/p>\n

Mourners could also be seen outside the centre beforehand sharing long hugs and wiping away tears as came together to pay their respects. <\/p>\n

\"\"Funeral JahVai Roy Dozens of people gathered at the Little Rabbit Community Centre on Manitoulin Island for the funeral of eight-year-old JahVai Roy on Aug. 20. <\/p>\n

Following the ceremony, a lengthy procession of mourners in vehicles, along with members of local emergency services and indigenous organizations, snaked their way through the community near Lake Huron en route to a nearby cemetery on the reserve for JahVai\u2019s burial.<\/p>\n

\"\"Procession JahVai Roy burial A lengthy procession of mourners in vehicles, along with members of local emergency services and indigenous organizations, make their way to a cemetery on the Wikwemikong Unceded Territory for JahVai Roy’s burial on Aug. 20. <\/p>\n

\u201cToday is going to be a very hard day for everyone. This is the day where we say, \u2018See you later\u2019 and we\u2019re not going to be able to touch, smell, hear (JahVai ever again),\u201d said one mourner.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow (JahVai\u2019s mom Holly is) surrounded by everybody, but come six months from now it\u2019s when she really will need her community,\u201d another woman added.<\/p>\n

Despite the sombre atmosphere, the women called for an end gun violence and demanded justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cGun violence needs to stop \u2026 I\u2019m calling out all politicians. I\u2019m calling out the federal government, the provincial government. What are they going to do?,\u201d one said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need direct action, not politicians giving promises, open promises. If you want to help (his mother) sign on the dotted line and help her,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n

In an online obituary<\/a>, JahVai Dominic Reese Roy, who was born on October 12, 2016, is being remembered for the love that he was surrounded by: that of his parents, Holly Roy and James Beckles, his siblings, Diondre and Khadijah, and his grandparents Vivian Roy and Albert Owl.<\/p>\n

He will also be \u201cforever missed,\u201c it said, by his aunties Allianne Atchitawens, Cherise Ba Owl, Angel Thibeault (Keith Ba), and Maxine Manitowabi (Lawrence) as well as his uncles Louie Roy, Shane Manitowabi (Clarissa), and Peak Jr. Manitowabi, as well as \u201cloved forever\u201d by his cousins Jaylin, Sean, Mia, Hunter, Chase, Johntae, Joell, Maverick, Oginii, Lilly Anna, Antasia, Remi, Brayden, Calvin, and Mariah, and special auntie and uncle Samantha Daybutch and Kevin Cummins.<\/p>\n

\u201cJahvai will stay forever 8 in the memories and hearts of many great aunts and uncles and so many friends,\u201d the obituary read. <\/p>\n

Many people have taken to social media to express their heartbreak and share messages of condolence as well as kind words and memories of JahVai, whom they called sweet, full of life and joy, humble, and funny.<\/p>\n

\"\"JahVai Roy JahVai Roy, 8, was fatally struck by a stray bullet in his North York Home on Aug. 16. (Island Funeral Home\/photo) Candlelight vigil, rally against gun violence happening this week<\/p>\n

A candlelight vigil for JahVai will be held on Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. outside of the family\u2019s home at 15 Martha Eaton Way.<\/p>\n

Attendees are asked to bring candles, flowers, photos, and any words or memories they\u2019d like to share.<\/p>\n

Local politicians, city officials, and Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw have said that they will be in attendance.<\/p>\n

A rally against gun violence has also been organized on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon outside Toronto City Hall at 100 Queen St. W.<\/p>\n

It should also be noted that a community town hall on gun violence in Youth South-Weston that was originally scheduled for October has been pushed up to September.<\/p>\n

A crowdfunding campaign<\/a> created earlier this week to help pay for funeral expenses for the boy\u2019s family has now raised more than %70,000. <\/p>\n

\"\"JahVai Roy JahVai Roy, 8, is Toronto’s 26th homicide victim of 2025. (Toronto police handout\/supplied) <\/p>\n

With files from CTV News Northern Ontario\u2019s Angela Gemmell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The funeral for an eight-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet while laying in bed with his mother…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[712,49,48,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-84887","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}