Five Hamilton shootings and 3 armed robberies in 8 days has police ‘disturbed’

Hamilton | Crime | Latest News | Police |

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Published December 5, 2022 at 4:29 pm

Police in Hamilton say shootings are up by one-fourth over this time last year, after officers responded to three within a 30-hour span last weekend.

In a statement, Hamilton Police say that since Nov. 27, one week ago Sunday, the city has had five shootings, two robberies where a firearm was shown and one robbery where the suspects threatened the victim with a knife and taser. They add there has been a 24-per-cent increase in shootings compared to the same point in 2021. The city also has a higher sustained violent crime severity index, which is 16% higher than the crime severity Hamilton experienced in 2018.

“We should all be disturbed by the events over the weekend. We can’t be lulled into complacency by accepting this is what our city has become,” Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen stated on Monday.

Hamilton Police say they will be dedicating further resources to concentrate on addressing these violent crimes.

Taking the most recent first, the three shootings all occurred downtown.

  • On Sunday (Dec. 4), shortly 9 a.m., a lone male suspect was found to be stealing from a commercial business located in the area of Main St. E. and Emerald St.The suspect was taking food and other items from the store. As the suspect was leaving the store, he was approached by a staff member. During the interaction with staff, the male suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed the staff member prior to fleeing the area on foot.
  • On Sunday, at approximately 2:34 a.m., Hamilton Police responded to reports of a shooting that had just occurred in the area of Catharine St. N. and King William St.Upon police arrival an adult male victim was located. The victim was taken to hospital and his injury was determined to be non life-threatening. Police located a male suspect on scene who was taken into custody without incident.
  • On Saturday (Dec. 3), shortly after 4 a.m., Hamilton Police officers responded to the area of Main St. E. and Catharine St. S. after multiple gunshots were heard. Police confirmed a shooting incident occurred after bullet casings were located in the area. There were no reported injuries.

Police were also able to seize two crimes guns over the weekend. A pistol with extended magazine capacity was seized when a warrant was carried out  on Dec. 2 . A gun was found in a car after the shooting near Catharine St. on Sunday.

To date, Hamilton Police have seized 234 crime guns from Hamilton streets.

“I have seen these numbers rise since I joined Hamilton Police Service in 2018,” Bergen stated. “This can’t be our new normal. Thanks to our members for their hard work in tackling these challenging issues. We have to be relentless in addressing crime and work closely with our community to find solutions to the increasing trend.”

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