Hamilton police scouring footage from at least 16 security cameras for evidence in fatal shooting //
Sheila Anglin was sitting at her computer like every night after closing time, going through receipts from her bar, Sheila’s Place, when she heard the loud “bang, bang, bang, bang.”
She immediately opened the back door, which exits onto East Avenue North, and saw a man in a white shirt and sneakers lying, unmoving on the sidewalk across from her. A woman in a red shirt was later seen running out of an alley and collapsing alongside him.
The man on the ground was later identified by police as Michael Campbell, 34, of Brampton — the fourth homicide victim in Hamilton this year. Three others suffered non-life threatening injuries in the gunfire, including the woman, and two other men who showed up at hospital on their own.
It was shortly after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday when Anglin, who has owned the bar at King Street and East Avenue for nearly 16 years, grabbed her phone and dialed 911. The first officer arrived while she was still on the phone. He told her he’d just driven by the alley behind her business 10 minutes before and nothing was going on.
She said her daughter later scolded her for so quickly opening the door when she didn’t know if the shooter was still there, but Anglin wasn’t scared.
“I know they won’t shoot me,” she says.
Anglin, who also runs Ellis Kitchen, a popular Caribbean restaurant attached to the bar, says the locals know she doesn’t put up with nonsense. Last month, when she noticed some guys from out of town selling drugs in the back of the bar, she went to police. She hasn’t seen them again and police had promised her they’d keep a closer eye on the business.
There are 16 security cameras on the building, which police are combing through for evidence in the shooting. Some of the footage shows the victim collapsing and others running. One man is pulled into a car, leaving his shoe behind, she said.
Hamilton police say every indication is the shooting was not random, but detectives can’t say who within the group that night was the intended target. Police are getting “limited co-operation.”
“The people that have the most information are the people who are the victims who have been shot ... they have been hesitant,” said Det.-Sgt. Steve Bereziuk of the Hamilton police major crime unit.
Police do not believe it was a gunfight, but rather a single suspect or two suspects walked up to the group, who had been standing on the sidewalk talking, and opened fire.
A day after the shooting Anglin says she’s “tired.” Not just from staying up all night while police combed through her street and surveillance video, but from her frustration over the violence. Three men were shot outside her bar, just metres from the current scene, four years ago. On Wednesday, she thought, “not again.”
Anglin has invested in updating the storefront and windows of her building, and says she wants her restaurant and bar to be a place where the black community can gather and feel safe, “sit down and relax.”
“I hope (the shooting) doesn’t keep people away,” she said, adding that she likes being in the neighbourhood. From the stream of customers in the Ellis Kitchen on Thursday, it doesn’t appear she’s losing any customers. Anglin said she just “lights up” when she sees people who haven’t seen each other in years reconnecting in her business.
At the scene Thursday, the road was reopened and a small bouquet of white flowers were taped to a hydro pole — a makeshift memorial. Hamilton police were also out canvassing again, looking for more witnesses.
Anyone with information, or video, is asked to call Det. Ross Johnson of the major crime unit at 905-546-3827. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppers hamilton.com.