Guilty plea entered in downtown shooting
Peterborough woman was shot in the chest over living arrangements
A Whitby man will be sentenced this summer in connection to a shooting in a downtown Peterborough apartment in November 2021.
Zuvaan Hamilton, 22, appeared in the Superior Court of Justice in Peterborough before Justice Joseph Di Luca on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and discharge a firearm.
Hamilton, who is in custody, was originally charged with attempted murder with a firearm.
According to the agreed statement of facts, the Peterborough Police Service was dispatched to unit four of 168 Charlotte St. during the early morning hours of Nov.11, 2021following reports of an individual being shot.
Upon entrance to the apartment, police found two women in a bedroom.
“The woman (name omitted) was sitting on the ground on the north side of the bed and was moaning, holding a blanket up to her left chest area,” Crown attorney Paul Murray told the court.
“The woman (name omitted) was covered in blood and there was a pool of blood on the ground behind her.”
Murray said the woman advised police she had been shot and was clearly in shock.
She described the suspect as a Black male that was approximately six feet tall and was wearing a real tree black and green tracksuit.
She believed the shooter fled to 554 Aylmer St., the court heard.
As paramedics began to cut off clothing, Murray told the court that an investigating officer could see the end of a bullet protruding from an open bleeding wound on the back left side of the victim.
The woman was taken to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s trauma procedure room, where doctors removed the bullet from her back. She was then transported to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto where her significant lung injuries and rib fractures where treated for 18 days before her release.
Through investigation, Murray said it was determined that Hamilton had been staying at the women’s apartment for days leading up to the shooting. The victim became unhappy with the arrangement and wanted Hamilton to leave. During a heated argument about the arrangements, Hamilton shot the victim once with a firearm.
“Mr. Hamilton acknowledges that he fired his handgun intentionally at the woman (name omitted) with intent to wound her,” Murray said.
Hamilton returns to court on July 17 for sentencing.