Boy, 16, dead in ‘brazen’ shooting at downtown Hamilton mall

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A 16-year-old boy is dead following what police believe was a targeted shooting inside a downtown Hamilton mall on Friday.

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Hamilton Police say in a series of social media updates that officers were investigating a shooting at Jackson Square in the late afternoon.

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Initially, police said a male was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but they later said the victim had died of his injuries.

“Our thoughts go out to the victim and his family at this point,” Supt. Martin Schulenberg told reporters at the scene Friday night.

‘Brazen shooting’

“This is a brazen shooting that occurred inside a mall. We’re obviously very concerned about this.”

Schulenberg said the homicide unit has taken over the investigation.

According to police, multiple shots were fired inside a cellphone store shortly after 5 p.m. while the mall was busy.

“There was an altercation that occurred just prior to the shooting, and so that at this point we believe that that is a targeted incident in relation to this altercation,” Schulenberg said.

Two suspects were seen leaving the area heading east toward James St., cops said. The suspects are described as white males and approximately 19 to 20 years old. One was wearing a grey tracksuit, the other was wearing a blue tracksuit.

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Police believe both suspects were carrying firearms, one of which was a long gun, and ask the public to not approach them but call 911 immediately if they are seen.

Schulenberg said the mall’s security helped officers manage the scene despite the traumatic event that had just taken place.

“These are shots inside an active mall,” he said. “So there’s going to be a high level of concern for shoppers and pedestrians and people using the area. We had officers here in very short order.”

He expects the area to be closed to the public for several hours while forensic investigators collect evidence in and around the mall.

“They’ll be looking at all aspects of where the suspects came into the mall, where they exited, and anywhere in between,” Schulenberg said.

Mayor calls death ‘devastating’

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said it was “devastating” to learn of the boy’s death in the “senseless” shooting.

“A young life taken far too soon,” she wrote on social media.

“Guns have no place on our streets. Period. This was a horrifying act of violence, and it must end.”

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Horwath said she is receiving updates from Police Chief Frank Bergen.

“To the many community members that were asked to shelter in place, while police searched for the suspects, I know It must have been a terrifying experience, and I am thinking of everyone impacted,” she said.

Cops closed roads between King St., James St., and MacNab St. as the investigation continued.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Robert Di Ianni of the Homicide Unit at (905) 546-3865, or Hamilton Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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