Mark Takahashi struggles to capture the character of his younger brother in just a few sentences.
“It’s hard to sum up your brother in a couple words, right?” Mark told the Star on Sunday. “I loved him with all my heart.”
His brother, 20-year-old Brian Takahashi, died early Saturday morning after being stabbed in an alley near Queen St. W. and Portland St. at 2:25 a.m.
Occurring just hours into 2011, Takahashi’s murder is Toronto’s first of the year.
Takahashi’s best friend was stabbed in the altercation as well, but Mark said he is in stable condition in hospital.
A 27-year-old Toronto man has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder after turning himself in to police on Sunday. Luke Heath is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on Monday.
Police said the trouble started at about 1 a.m. on New Year’s Day as Takahashi stood outside a bar on Queen St. W. with some friends.
The group was approached by a man and some friends, who were carrying a video camera. They started filming Takahashi and his friends while asking them about their New Year’s resolutions.
The two groups started arguing and the man left.
But the man returned later, and after a verbal fight, allegedly stabbed Takahashi and his best friend. He then fled.
“(Takahashi) was an unarmed kid that was basically doing nothing wrong,” Mark said.
“He was a tough guy . . . but at the same time he was in way over his head.”
According to friends who witnessed the incident, Takahashi was allegedly lured into the alley before the stabbing, Mark said.
Residents who live in the apartment building overlooking the alley said on Saturday they heard yelling just before the stabbing and then sirens.
Patrons of the bar that backs onto the alley, Tattoo Rock Parlour, are often loud and rowdy, residents said.
Takahashi lived with his family in Campbellville, a small community about 65 kilometres southwest of Toronto.
He was an avid snowboarder and liked to drive off-road vehicles, Mark said.
Takahashi graduated last year from Waterdown District High School and was working full-time for a rental company. He fiercely loved his dog, Pawz.
“His spare time was minimal because he was a workaholic,” Mark said.
“He lived for his friends, and they would, and still, do anything for him. He was honest way past the point of being brutal, and you would be hard-pressed to find anyone more loved for exactly who he was.”
Takahashi leaves behind his parents as well as a younger brother.
“(My parents) are coping as best they can,” Mark said.
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