Gunfire erupts in east end twice in one day
Man shot on Roxborough Avenue; second shooting on Barton Street East
Hamilton police are investigating two shootings in one day in the city’s east end.
A man in his 20s was shot shortly after midnight in front of a home on Roxborough Avenue near Parkdale Avenue North in what police are calling a targeted attack. The man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Details of exactly what happened remain unclear, but evidence at the scene shows it was not a drive-by shooting.
That shooting was followed by another later in the day, at around 2:11 p.m. at Barton Street East and Balmoral Avenue, said Const. Jerome Stewart. Two men from the latest shooting were also transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Stewart said. The afternoon shooting created a heavy police presence in the area, including tactical and canine unit officers. Sections of Barton and Balmoral were closed for a period of time but are now fully open again.
It’s too early to say whether the shootings are connected, but it’s highly unusual to see two shootings in Hamilton on the same day. Both shootings are under investigation by east-end criminal investigations branch detectives. The investigation into the two shootings is in its early stages and police are looking for witnesses to come forward.
The shootings come a day after police again appealed to the public for witnesses after shots were fired in the north end of the city Sunday evening.
“There is no evidence at this point in time to support or dispel any connection between the ... recent shooting incidents,” Stewart said, adding that there just isn’t enough evidence to know if they’re connected.
On Sunday, police were called shortly after 7 p.m. after multiple shots were fired, striking the window of a residence near Wentworth Street North and Barton Street East. No one was injured in this shooting and those involved fled before police arrived.
Cece Luppino, son of Hamilton mobster Rocco Luppino, was gunned down in the doorway of his home Jan. 30. Homicide detectives are searching for a black man, with an average or athletic build, who was seen walking through the neighbouring property and into the victim’s open garage at 3:10 p.m. Luppino’s funeral was at Most Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church on the east Mountain Tuesday morning. On Jan. 14 shots were fired at a car on Melvin Avenue at Brunswick Street. The first shooting of the year happened Jan. 2 when someone fired at the front door of an apartment unit inside 910 Barton St. E. No one was hurt. Tuesday’s gunfire marks the fifth and sixth shootings in Hamilton so far this year. There were 25 shootings in 2018, down from a high of 41 in 2017.
Anyone with information on the Parkdale Avenue shooting is asked to call 905-546-2930.