Jane Creba, the 15-year-old Toronto girl who lost her life in a Boxing Day shooting spree that may have involved youth gangs, is being remembered by her family as a "loving and caring soul with a cheerful open heart."

"Our bright light tragically scattered into darkness on Boxing Day 2005," said a statement by her parents, Virginia Barton and Bruce Creba.

"Her life has been transformed into a shooting star that will be forever a light for her devoted parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and close friends."

Jane Creba was a Grade 10 student at a Toronto high school, police said as they released this photo.
Jane Creba was a Grade 10 student at a Toronto high school, police said as they released this photo.

The Grade 10 student was gunned down around dinnertime Monday during a shootout between two groups of young men on busy Yonge Street, which was packed with other innocent bystanders. She had been shopping with her mother.

The teen was the "best friend" of her sister Alison and she protected her brother Elliot "like a mother hen," the statement said.

Creba, who lived in the east end of Canada's largest city, was described as a top student and excellent athlete

A man pauses to light a candle at a makeshift memorial where the Yonge Street shooting took place.
A man pauses to light a candle at a makeshift memorial where the Yonge Street shooting took place.

Creba was 'the funniest, prettiest and all around nicest person'

Friends and classmates writing on the internet remembered Creba as a warm person who was full of enthusiasm.

"She was honest to God the funniest, prettiest and all around nicest person...," one classmate wrote on a blog.

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said witnesses have been providing a lot of information about the shooting.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said witnesses have been providing a lot of information about the shooting.

"I can't think of a single person who didn't like her and everyone loved laughing and joking with her. She had the nicest fun-loving attitude towards everything and I know that everyone will miss her."

A makeshift memorial of flowers, candles, and stuffed animals has been set up to mark the site of her death, on a stretch of sidewalk several blocks north of the Eaton Centre shopping mall.

'Significant progress' in probe: police chief

A post-mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was a bullet wound to the body.

The city's police chief says his force is making "very significant progress" in investigating the incident, which also left four males and two other females with injuries.

Bill Blair told CBC News that police have a number of leads and are awaiting the results of forensic, ballistic and DNA tests.

A lot of information is coming in from witnesses at the scene. Investigators are also reviewing video taken in the area of the shooting, he said.

"The investigation is very active and we're making very significant progress and I'm very confident we'll get to the bottom of this and bring the people responsible to justice."

Gang feud may have spurred shooting: reports

It's believed a feud between rival gang members may have sparked the shooting.

Police believe 10 to 15 people in their late teens to early 20s from two different groups were involved in the exchange of gunfire.

Within an hour of the shooting, police arrested two young men at a nearby subway station, where they recovered a gun. By Wednesday, it was still uncertain if the two were involved in the violence. No charges had been laid.

Police said there could be more arrests.