EDMONTON – The Edmonton Police Service says the three homicides that have occurred on or near Jasper Avenue are not random, not linked, and residents should not be afraid.
Monday, police had taped off an apartment near 83 Street and Jasper Avenue.
Staff Sgt. Bill Clark confirmed Tuesday that death of a man found inside has been ruled a homicide.
“The suspicious death that occurred yesterday morning is ruled a homicide. It’s homicide number 11 for the city of Edmonton.”
The victim has been identified as 68-year-old Jose Rodriguez. Police say he died of a stab wound.
Police say Rodriguez was last seen on Wednesday, May 29. Officers were notified after the victim did not show up for work at his full-time job.
“We don’t know the exact timeline of his death yet.”
Police continue to investigate, but say they don’t yet have any suspects in the case.
“It is our belief that this is not a random act by any accounts, but we’re still early on in the investigation,” said Clark.
On Thursday night, 51-year-old Curtis Dugray was found dead at 111 Street and 99 Avenue.
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Police are not releasing the cause of death in the case of Dugray.
They have identified two persons of interest.
“Mr. Dugray associated with homeless people. He did have a residence he could go to, but he made certain lifestyle choices.”
Clark said both Rodriguez and Dugray appear to have had high-risk lifestyles. However, he specified they were involved in different kinds of high-risk behaviour.
18-year-old Shane Bird died early Monday morning after a fight at 114 Street just north of Jasper Avenue.
“We’re still gathering evidence on that one,” said Clark. “That incident involved two males that were fighting that escalated to the death of Shane Bird, which resulted from a stab wound to the upper torso area.”
Clark said Bird’s death was not random; there is some association between the victim and the suspect.
Police have identified the suspect and are currently trying to locate that individual.
More investigation is required before charges will be laid in this case.
Clark believes alcohol was a factor in the deaths of both Dugray and Bird.
However, police say the three homicides are not connected in any way.
“None of these incidents are linked in any way,” stressed Clark. “There’s no link between the three homicides that have occurred over the last few days in Edmonton… by all accounts, it looks like these are not random acts either, any of the three.”
“The inner city, I believe, is quite safe,” added Clark. “It is still safe out there to walk the streets.”
He says it’s unfortunate that there have been several violent incidents in a short amount of time.
“We’ve had it before. You’ll recall December 31, 2011. We had three homicides in one day.”
Tony Harder, superintendent of EPS downtown division, adds the area is safer than it was this time last year.
“I can’t control perceptions, but I can say that in downtown division generally, violent crime is down 12 per cent over last year.”
“We’re in a better place,” he says. “Since last year, we’ve added 16 beats to the area. That’s a lot of beat members. We have segways and bicycles in the area regularly, we have routine patrols there.”
“The public really has no reason to be fearful of what’s going on there. In fact, it’s better than it was last year.”
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