Man shot in home invasion
46-year-old wounded in east end; city’s shooting tally climbs to eight in past month
A 46-year-old man is in stable condition with life-threatening injuries after being shot during a home invasion in an east Hamilton neighbourhood.
The violent Tuesday morning home invasion at 21 Holly Ave., near Beach Road and north of the Centre on Barton mall, also left two teens and a 52-year-old woman with non-life-threatening injuries, said Hamilton police spokesperson Const. Steve Welton. Another teenager inside the home was not injured.
Two suspects, ages 15 and 18, were arrested at the scene shortly after police were called to the scene at about 9 a.m. Police are searching for three others seen running away.
This is at least the third home invasion and eighth shooting in Hamilton in the past month that The Spectator is aware of.
However, in each case, police caution the public that the victims have been targeted and not random.
“While it is a concern for community and police, it was targeted,” Welton said Tuesday.
Neighbour Marjo Daniels said a couple and their teenage son live in the home. They run a home renovation business. “They are great people.”
Daniels said she ran out with another neighbour when they heard what happened and the 52-year-old victim ran over to them. She told Daniels her husband was shot in the hand and torso. His hand was nearly amputated in the attack, she said.
Police confirmed the man suffered more than one injury but wouldn’t provide details.
The homeowner told Daniels the five suspects kept demanding they provide the password to a safe in the home, she said.
The family gathered at the General Hospital awaiting news for the shooting victim, who underwent surgery.
“It’s scary because this neighbourhood is so quiet ... everybody looks after everybody,” Daniels said. “This is unbelievable.”
Police were initially called to the scene for a break-and-enter in progress after suspects were seen trying to get into the home. There, officers heard “a number of shots were fired by suspects.”
A male suspect ran from the scene when police arrived, abandoning a car parked in front of the house.
Police are investigating whether the incident is linked to other crimes, including a home invasion Saturday night on Weir Street North, where a young man was shot.
On Tuesday, there was a heavy police presence around Holly Avenue as police
worked to secure the area and search for suspects. At least half a dozen cruisers and two ambulances were parked directly across from St. Christopher’s Park.
A house was blocked off by police tape, and officers could be seen going in and out.
Residents and neighbours stood outside, embracing, while talking to officers.
Manuel Carvalho was working in the garage of a home on Bayfield Avenue, one block to the west of Holly Avenue. The backyards of homes on the streets face each other. “I heard somebody walking on the gravel,” Carvalho said, adding he thought it was his friend coming out to see him.
Then a kid, who looked to be about 16 or 17, ran by him, he said. “I thought it was just kid fooling around jumping fences.”
A few minutes later, police came by and Carvalho realized what was going on.