Gunshot victim found in what police call a housing unit takeover in Peterborough

Three people face charges following a shooting in what police are calling a housing unit takeover in Peterborough, Ont., on Tuesday evening.

Around 7 p.m. the Peterborough Police Service say officers were conducting a wellbeing check at an apartment unit at a complex on Fairbairn Street near Parkview Drive. The 36-unit building is owned by the Peterborough Housing Corporation.

Police say that after they knocked on a door, a 24-year-old man from Oshawa came out of an apartment with a gunshot wound to his leg.

He was treated by paramedics and later taken to Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

Police say they later called up the emergency response team, K9 unit and remotely piloted aircraft system after learning there were more people in the residence.

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Area residents were advised to stay in their homes or avoid the area.

Around 10:30 p.m., police reopened the road and lifted the residence order.

Police say they seized 28.5 grams of suspected fentanyl and some cash.

Police during a 1 p.m. media conference on Wednesday would not state if a firearm has been located.

The incident led to the arrest of three people. Police say they are not looking for anymore suspects.

A 22-year-old man from St. Catharines, Ont., a 16-year-old boy from Whitby, Ont., and a 15-year-old boy from Ajax, Ont., were arrested and each charged with unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm, possession of a schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds obtained by crime under $5,000.

The 16-year-old was also charged with failure to comply with an undertaking to abide by a set curfew in their place of residence and to not possess a firearm or prohibited weapon.

All three were held in custody and are scheduled to appear in court in Peterborough on Wednesday.

Peterborough police chief Stuart Betts noted while the shooting victim has no criminal record, he is currently out on bail “for violent offences including robbery with a firearm.” He remains in hospital.

Police define a housing unit takeover as a  situation in which the tenant or homeowner finds themselves “manipulated and endangered physically, financially, and/or psychologically” by people who have moved into their home.

It’s the second shooting in less than a week in the city following the fatal shooting of a man on April 26 which led to the arrest of one person that same day.

Betts noted in each of the incidents, they were not “random acts of violence.”

“The individuals involved were all known to each other,” he said. “Last night’s shooting was a case of violence brought to our city, not violence originating in our city.”

Betts stressed to the community to report any suspicious or concerning activity, report it to police or anonymously via Crime Stoppers either online or call.

“If you see something, say something, tell someone,” he said. “We can’t go, if we don’t know.”