Guns, Gangs, and the Underclass: A Constructionist Analysis of Gun Violence in a Toronto High School

Using data gathered from local press coverage, this article examines how the shooting death of 15-year-old Jordan Manners at a Toronto high school was framed. In particular, we seek to explain why the media's initial attempt to contextualize the event vis-a-vis the tragedy of past school shootings eventually gave way to an interpretive frame rooted in ideological presuppositions about Toronto's underclass. We argue that when the media are confronted with a "must cover" event but lack essential information, the tendency is to adopt pre-existing, consonant frameworks. We conclude by exploring the socio-political significance of such essentializing frames vis-a-vis crime in poor communities inhabited mainly by people of colour.