Hamilton police are investigating an overnight shooting that left three people injured as a search for the suspect gets underway.
Police said officers were called to the area of Gage Avenue North and Cannon Street East in the city’s Crown Point West neighbourhood at approximately 12:30 a.m. for a report of a shooting involving “multiple victims.”
When officers arrived on scene they found three men in their 50s with gunshot wounds, all of whom were transported to hospital in stable condition, police said. The extent of their injuries was not disclosed.
In an update, police said a suspect, described as an Asian male between 20 and 30 years old wearing a red hoodie and red pants, attended a residence in the area “looking for a specific” person before the gunfire broke out.
When he was told to leave the residence, police said, a “disturbance” ensued and the three victims were shot. There were eight people in the residence at the time of the shooting and no other injuries were reported, police said.
Residents in the area are asked to check their surveillance systems between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. for sightings of the suspect.
Police said this it the city’s 26th shooting of the year.
Last month, Hamilton police said they have seen "marked increase" in the number of incidents involving gunfire in the city in recent weeks.
They noted that the majority of the shooting incidents have been “targeted.”
“Do not let the reckless actions of a few define our community’s safety. As a community, we cannot accept or tolerate this level of violence,” Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen said in a written statement at the time. “We can’t become complacent in response to these increasingly brazen acts.”
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact police at 905-546-4883 or Crime Stoppers
