Halifax’s 12th homicide victim of 2016 tried to change life before death

The 22-year-old victim of Halifax’s 12th homicide this year was trying to change his life before he was fatally shot Monday night.

Tyler Keizer, who was shot in his car near the intersection of Gottingen Street and Falkland Street shortly before midnight, had been out of prison for three months. He was transported to the QEII Health Sciences Centre following the shooting, where he later died.

READ MORE: Tyler Keizer identified as victim of Monday night’s fatal shooting

Parole documents obtained by Global News show Keizer was granted a one chance statutory release on Aug. 30. According to parole documents, a release was recommended under strict conditions, including not consuming alcohol or drugs, associating with people involved in criminal activity and residing at a community correctional centre, which he had been accepted into.

The board noted Keizer had made a “decision to change,” which included not engaging in violent behaviour and following a correctional plan.

Prior to his release, he had been in a maximum security prison serving a two-year, nine-month federal sentence for assault, robbery, drug possession and failing to comply with conditions of an undertaking and recognizance.

Keizer had been sentenced to jail, according to documents, after he assaulted the host of a party, punching him repeatedly in the face after he said the man took his cellphone. Police found he was in possession of cocaine, marijuana and a knife when they arrived at the residence.

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In a separate instance, he also robbed someone he knew by threatening the man with violence if he did not give him a gold chain, watch and cellphone.

READ MORE: Halifax police investigate fatal shooting near police HQ

During his time in jail, Keizer is said to have been involved in an at least two incidents that left inmates seriously injured, one of which parole documents said is “suspected of being the result of the victim owing money to an organized crime group.”

Keizer, according to documents, received an additional year to his sentence for one of the assaults. His first attempt at parole was denied in November 2014 due to several incidents including possession of makeshift weapons – shanks – in his cell.

The board found Keizer was “likely to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person” before his sentence expired. He appealed in 2015 but the board denied the appeal having found he had a “high risk to reoffend” and still demonstrated “aggressive behaviours.”

A mandatory review by the board in January 2016 found while they could not find evidence he would cause serious harm or death to a person, it kept the original board’s decision intact. His detention order was then amended in March 2016 to reflect his new release date after the additional year was added to his sentence.

Timeline: Homicides in Halifax in 2016

In a prior psychological assessment, Keizer had been diagnosed at a children’s hospital with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a learning disability. The latter, documents say, caused difficulty for Keizer in “processing language” and at expressing himself.

A 2014 assessment found Keizer had a high risk of relapsing into criminal behaviour, but a psychological risk assessment in July 2016 found his risk had been reduced to “medium” as long as he avoided alcohol, drug use and association with “criminally minded peers.”

The medical examiner ruled Monday’s shooting a homicide. Halifax police said they believed Keizer was the target.