 A Toronto police forensics officer takes a picture of fire damage after a firebomb struck a home near Kennedy and Ellesmere. The family's teenaged son, Prem, has stood up to bullies. His mom is in critical condition in the hospital. (SUN/Jonathan Jenkins)
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TORONTO (Sun Media) - Pirasanna "Prem" Anantharajah stood up to the gang of bullies who've been harassing teens around Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute just hours before his house was firebombed, friends say.
"Prem's a Good Samaritan. He sticks up for everybody," a friend who didn't want his name used, said.
Prem's mother is in critical condition with burns to 30% of her body after someone threw a liquor bottle full of gasoline through the family's living room window around 3 a.m.
A broken bottle inside the house and a plastic jerry can found about a block away would both be sent for forensic tests, police said.
Prem, 18, and his younger sister suffered minor burns. A brother escaped injury and Prem's father, who works nights, wasn't at the home near Kennedy Rd. and Ellesemere Ave. at the time.
Classmates of Prem's at Leacock were well aware of what had happened and said outside the school that trouble began around midday Tuesday, when a notorious gang of bullies began harassing one of their friends.
CHASED BY 10 GUYS
"One of these guys said 'Why are you looking at me?' " one young man said. "He got chased by 10 guys and a knife came out."
The victim escaped, the students said. When Prem learned of the incident, he approached the culprits and told them to back off.
"He stood up for a friend and they didn't like it," he said.
The Leacock students said the gang of youths "is more like a pack" and will fight with anyone over anything. They never fight one on one and always try to outnumber their opponents, they said.
They also said they doubt if anyone -- even police -- can end the gang's reign of terror.
Another friend of Prem's, who had spoken to him early yesterday while he was in hospital, said the teen had tried to put out the flames after the firebomb landed on his sleeping mother and sister.
"He said someone threw a Smirnoff bottle into the house," the friend said. "He said his mom is seriously injured. The bottle fell mostly on his mom but he did his best put it out. His leg is burned, his sister's hair is burned, her arm is burned."
The friend said Prem has been routinely targeted by the gang -- who call themselves BNS, for Birchmount and Sheppard -- and has been beaten by them in the past.
HARASSMENT
And he expressed fears his family might get caught up in the harassment.
"He was telling me (Wednesday) he was scared they were going to come and involve the family," the friend said. "They told his dad to take care of his son because they were going to come and beat him up if they saw him alone on the street.
"He was scared and said he didn't know what to do."
Several of Prem's friends said he also knew the victim of a stabbing at Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute Tuesday evening, although some discounted any link between that incident and the firebombing.
Detectives said they were looking into any potential connection between the two cases but hadn't confirmed anything.
And until the fire marshal has done his work, police say they won't jump to any conclusions about the fire either.
"There's indications it was intentionally started," Det. Joe Digiovanni said.
"Until the fire marshal conducts his investigation, we can't say for certain."
