Police are seeking at least three male suspects after another brazen daytime shooting in Hamilton’s downtown core.
Investigators say witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots in the area of Caroline and Market streets shortly after 11 a.m.
Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk says officers found several shell casings as well as a bullet hole in the window of a first-floor unit of a nearby apartment building.
“That particular unit was unoccupied at the time, however, it is a lived-in unit,” Bereziuk revealed.
“We’re fortunate that the homeowner was, in fact, out at the time of the shooting.”
He says nearby cars on Market Street were also impacted by gunfire.
Early indicators point to a shootout between two groups, with suspects fleeing north on foot down Caroline.
Bereziuk stopped short of saying the incident is connected with some sort of “turf war” but says it’s not being ruled out.
Video and still pictures of the suspects can be seen on the Hamilton Police website.
Three young men can be seen crossing the road and approaching a parked car before suddenly ducking and running away past a surveillance camera.
The shooting is similar to several in a recent spike in shootings that put the city on course for a five-year high.
In mid-May, police Chief Frank Bergen characterized the recent spate of brazen daytime gunfights in Hamilton as “alarming” and “not acceptable.”
“What is alarming about what is occurring in the last couple weeks is its reckless disregard for public safety and for seeing that these are happening at any hours of the day and in many cases during broad daylight,” Bergen said.
Hamilton police Supt. Marty Schulenberg admitted the recent rise in shootings is complex since other illicit activities, like drug crimes, tend to drive aggressive behaviors.
“There is an element of the gangster lifestyle and retaliatory shootings that come with that turf war,” Schulenberg explained.
“The proliferation of the availability of handguns … all of these things work together. Then we also have to consider our bail system, who’s in, who’s out, what that looks like.”
The city is at 26 shootings, a marked increase year over year compared with January through May last year, in which only 10 were reported.
At the current rate, Hamilton is on course for a ten-year high in shootings.
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