Family of boy, 13, stabbed at Edmonton LRT station seeks answers in his death

The family of a 13-year-old boy stabbed at an LRT station in downtown Edmonton last week is calling for answers in his death.

Rhonda Spence said her grandson Eric Omeasoo was fatally injured in the assault late Wednesday night at MacEwan LRT station. Police say the boy was part of a group who reportedly assaulted a man and a woman at the station.

An autopsy completed Friday determined that he suffered a fatal stab wound and confirmed that the manner of death was homicide.

Spence, who was Omeasoo's legal guardian, said the family is waiting for information from the Edmonton Police Service about the circumstances of his death.

She said family members want to know what happened and why no one has been charged in Omeasoo's death.

"We have lots of questions and still no answers," Spence told CBC on Monday.

She said the family is now fundraising for funeral costs, waiting to meet with police investigators and hoping to shine a spotlight on the ongoing investigation.

"My grandson deserves to have that known," she said. "He wasn't just some nobody. He deserves justice."

Spence said she found out about her grandson's death Thursday afternoon because police needed her to identify his body.

Spence said she will forever remember the teen's humour and compassion — and she is proud that others, including staff and his fellow students at school, have also remembered his kindness.

"The memories that jump out the most were the times when he would console me when I was down. When he would hug me and say, 'Grandma, I love you and I'm here for you,'" she said.

"I just can't believe it. I'm just absolutely devastated and shattered."

Her grandson was an athlete, but loved basketball most, she said. He often played the sport with his friends or competed with his school team.

Spence attended a memorial service at her grandson's school in Edmonton, where a table had been set up with notes and a photo of him shooting a ball into a hoop. She said his friends and relatives remain in shock and crushed by grief.

A family fundraiser remembers Omeasoo as a vibrant young man who loved basketball, playing hockey with his cousins and singing traditional powwow music.

"Eric was just beginning his journey into his teenage years and was full of life and passion," reads the memorial fundraiser page.

"Eric's vibrant spirit touched everyone who knew him." 

Police found the boy's body while responding around 11:40 p.m. Wednesday to reports of an assault involving multiple people fighting at the MacEwan LRT station, the Edmonton Police Service said Thursday.

In a news release, police said the boy who died had been part of a group of four youths and an 18-year-old man. They reportedly assaulted a man, 34, and a woman, 32, at the LRT station, police said.

The group and the pair of adults did not know each other, police said.

Five people — three youths and two adults — were arrested, but only four of them were charged.

A 15-year-old girl, 14-year-old girl, 14-year-old boy and 18-year-old man were each charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and possessing an offensive weapon dangerous to the public, police said.

A police spokesperson said the fifth person who was arrested, another adult, was not charged.

Homicide detectives continue to investigate, police said Friday.

Spence said some of the information released by police Friday afternoon differs from what a homicide detective on the case told her beforehand.

She still has unanswered questions about how her grandson was fatally injured. She also wonders whether the emergency response was adequate, because her grandson was an Indigenous teenager.

"Maybe he could have been helped. We don't know. We'll never know because he's dead now," she said.

An EPS spokesperson confirmed EMS responded to the scene Wednesday night.

CBC had asked Edmonton police for further details Friday, but a spokesperson said they were unable to share more information because homicide detectives are still investigating the case. The spokesperson said more details will likely be issued once the investigation is finished. Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers. 

Omeasoo's death was Edmonton's first homicide of 2025.

Edmonton police have reported more than 400 incidents at LRT and transit stations so far this year. About one in five — roughly 77 — of those incidents were violent, according to the EPS's crime data dashboard.

At MacEwan station, police have recorded 34 occurrences, about three of which were about violent incidents, data shows.