'My heart breaks for his family': Copperfield stabbing victim remembered as kind young man

Family and friends want the victim of a fatal stabbing in Copperfield, Danillo Canales Glenn, to be remembered as being a kind young man and not for the tragic circumstances that took his life.

"He was a young man full of determination. He would give the shirt off his back to help anybody," said Anne Ervin, Canales Glenn’s grandmother.

She says her 18-year-old grandson was planning on attending the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology for a welding program, and was excited for a new chapter of life.

"I’m just numb, it’s very hard to deal with, it’s shocking," she said.

Canales Glenn leaves behind two younger siblings, according to Ervin, a 17-year-old brother and a 15-year-old sister.

"He was a proud big brother and proud to be taller than the rest of them. He’d hold you accountable for his actions but would still be there for you. His auntie Kathy raised him very well," said Canales Glenn’s aunt, Crystal-Jade.

The teen lost his life on Tuesday night after being attacked while at a basketball court in the 0-100 block of Copperstone Road S.E.

Police say Canales Glenn and two friends were approached by two strangers at around 8 p.m. A fight broke out, and the 18-year-old was attacked with bear spray and stabbed several times.

He was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries, becoming Calgary’s 13th homicide victim of 2023.

A memorial of flowers at the basketball court has been growing, with friends and community members stopping by to pay their respects.

Rosalle Painter is one of many people who visited the court to drop off flowers on behalf of her son, who she says was good friends with Canales Glenn.

Painter says her son and other friends are having a difficult time coming to terms with the news.

"It’s hard. It’s hard. There’s no words to explain it, it’s hard," she said.  

"I feel for his family, my heart breaks for his family."

Painter says she’s trying to understand how such a "senseless" act could happen, a sentiment echoed by many in the community who have stopped by to drop off flowers.

"I can’t imagine, as a mother, going through something like that, I really can’t," Painter said.

"It breaks my heart. It makes you hug your kids a little tighter."

Calgary police are searching for two male suspects in connection to the death.

His aunt and grandmother are pleading with the suspects to turn themselves in.

"I am so very mad. I’m not the type of person to say want but I want these people found. I want them put to justice because this is unjustified. He’s just a boy playing basketball with some friends and he was taken so brutally and without reason," said Glenn.

One suspect is described as follows:

• Between 16 and 18 years old;
• About 5'8" and slim; and
• Wearing a navy blue zip-up hoodie with a thin black stripe across the chest and back and the hood worn up, black pants and black shoes.

The other suspect is described as follows:

• Between 16 and 18 years old;
• About 5'8" and slim;
• Having dark brown or black hair;
• Having brown eyes; and
• Wearing a light grey zip-up hoodie with a thin black line across the chest to the back, black jeans, black shoes and a rectangular Gucci fanny pack across his chest.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers.