A 24-year-old woman is in hospital with life-threatening injuries and her 39-year-old partner is in custody following a shooting at a residence on Talbot Street, east of St. George Street, in St. Thomas, Ont., police say.
Officers were called to a “disturbance” at around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and found someone with a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to hospital by paramedics with life-threatening injuries, police say.
Police say the suspect fled the area on foot before police arrived, but was quickly found on Hiawatha Street and arrested.
According to police, the suspect was in possession of a loaded firearm at the time.
In an update Wednesday afternoon, police confirmed that the incident was being investigated as intimate partner violence.
Police said that investigators have determined that the two had been “involved in an altercation earlier in the afternoon” and that the “situation deteriorated to the point where the suspect shot the victim and fled the residence.” A police spokesperson told Global News the weapon involved was a handgun.
The victim remains in hospital with life-threatening injuries as of Wednesday afternoon.
A St. Thomas man, 39, is charged with attempt to commit murder and three weapons charges.
While processing the crime scene, forensic investigators said they also located a dead dog within the apartment. The dog is suspected to have suffered gunshot wounds.
Investigators say they will co-ordinate with Forensic Veterinarian Services to determine the cause of death.
Police remained at the apartment block on Talbot Street and no timeline was provided as to when officers would be leaving the scene.
This is the second shooting reported by St. Thomas police this year. The first occurred in January and was described by police as a “targeted shooting.”