West Island teen who died was in 'the wrong place at the wrong time'

Guy Gaudet says he still sees his son, Lucas, every time he closes his eyes.

"I can't stop crying. I can't eat," said the father of the West Island teenager who died on Thursday. "I've hardly slept."

The 16-year-old was rushed to hospital on Tuesday after being stabbed in an altercation outside St. Thomas High School in Pointe-Claire.

His parents raced to Sacré Coeur hospital only to find him critically injured.

"When he was lying there in the bed, I could see the tears in his eyes when he was lying there on life support," Guy Gaudet said. "I know he wasn't crying for himself, he was crying for us because he knows how much we were hurting."

Lucas's mother, Lynne Baudouy, says the family — Lucas has a younger sister and two other siblings — has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community.

"Everyone he touched, he left a lasting impression."

The John Rennie High School student was a hockey fanatic who started skating at the age of three, Baudouy said, and could often be spotted at the Pierrefonds sportsplex where he played with the Pierrefonds Barracudas. 

His friends described him as a good kid, saying he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He never did anything wrong," said Samuel Mariampillai, who had known him for the last 10 years.

"He really cared about others more than he cared about himself. He genuinely was there for everyone around him."

Gaudet would often come along for drives in Mariampillai's car, but never got the chance to learn how to drive.

"He was one in a million, I can never find someone else like him," Mariampillai said. "It's so hard to accept."

The John Rennie High School student always had a smile on his face, said Jada Singh, another friend of his.