HUNTER: Why was U.S. teen accused of Riverdale murders in Canada?

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The 17-year-old accused of gunning down two Toronto men in Riverdale last month is an American citizen, the Toronto Sun has learned.

Cops say the boy — who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act — was arrested Saturday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Investigators believe that Quentin Caza, 18, and Jeremy McNeil, 20, both of Toronto, were lured to the Riverdale area around 11 p.m. on April 15.

They were targeted for death, cops said.

When cops arrived, they discovered the two young men suffering from gunshot wounds. One was dead at the scene, the other died later in hospital.

Law enforcement sources told the Sun that homicide detectives are hunting two more suspects. Both were out on bail at the time of the shooting, the source said.

“What the American kid was doing here is anyone’s guess. At this point, it isn’t clear whether he’s wanted in the U.S. or whether he was hiding out in Toronto,” the source said. “Of course, because of his age, the public may never know.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was the only federal leader who hammered the law and order message during the just-concluded federal election campaign. But even Poilievre didn’t say much about Canada’s exploding violent youth crime woes.

“What are you going to say?” one cop said. “They should be lowering the age for young offenders. We’re seeing 16-, 17- and 18-year-olds who are hardened criminals, and there is no reason to believe they have any hope of rehabilitation.”

This is due in part that in Canada, young gangbangers don’t go to jail very often. There are effectively no consequences.

So, when some teen fiend is sprung back out into the community, it’s a green light to commit more crimes, terrorize a little more, and if the situation calls for it, park a bullet in someone.

“They know they’re not going to get any time for it, so do the older guys,” the cop said. “Keep your mouth shut, do your 12 or 18 months, and then, bingo, you’re back on the street.”

He added: “Kids today, they’re not afraid of anything. But if they took the age down to, say, 14, there might be more than a few come-to-Jesus moments.”

Of course, any action would be far too late for Caza and MacNeil. And don’t forget Ken Lee, who was brutally killed by a pack of teen girls, one cop called them “animals.”

Lee, 59, was beaten and stabbed by the eight teen terrors — aged 13 to 16 — in December 2022. The last girl pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Monday. She had been slated to go on trial for second-degree murder.

Her sentence will be a pittance. Jail time is unlikely. Consequences? Nil.

Out west in Calgary, prosecutors want the teen who stabbed Dean Visser, 16, to death to be sentenced as an adult. The boy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the unprovoked June 6, 2024, attack that left Visser dead.

He was stabbed three times in the back as he walked with his girlfriend.

What the killer wanted, badly, was Visser’s pricey Bathing Ape hoodie, known as a BAPE.

“During the stabbing, Visser can be heard shouting, ‘Who are you?’” the prosecutor said. “(The killer) is heard saying, ‘Give me that BAPE.’ Visser replies, ‘You can have the BAPE.’”

If prosecutors get their way, the most time in prison the kid will see is seven years. Probably out in four.

That’s as good as it gets.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun