People in Waterdown and Flamborough are shaken by news of a party in their neighbourhood that became violent and deadly this holiday weekend.
One man was shot and killed early Sunday following the party along Hwy. 6 North and residents are calling for measures to curb concerns about growing violence.
READ MORE: 1 dead, 3 injured after house party shooting in Flamborough
Police were still on scene Monday afternoon at the laneway leading up to the so-called “party villa” house. Police say that’s where the trouble started early Sunday morning leading to this weekend’s homicide, and injuries for three other people.
Police say 60 people were at the party that went into Sunday morning. The house is advertised as a party villa available for rent, including an indoor swimming pool.
Neighbours say the cars lined both sides of the driveway and spilled out along Hwy 6 when the party was on. Police were called Sunday around 4:30 a.m.
Hamilton Police Insp. Andrea Torrie said, “An altercation took place here just off Highway 6 at a short-term rental property…” And, “We were able to locate a male deceased in a vehicle just down the road.” Hamilton Police Insp. Andrea Torrie said.
Police say one man in his 20s died in a car along the highway. Another car was shot at a nearby gas station. Three people were injured.
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Police say it was a massive crime scene as they try to determine the exact sequence of events.
Neighbours tell CHCH News that the loud party music could be heard throughout the area and the gun violence has people nervous.
“What if they drive by? Stray bullets happen… I had a hard time sleeping last night. Like, you want to build a fortress around your house,” Resident Laura Thomson said.
Residents are also concerned that the same stretch of highway was the scene of a shooting in March less than four months ago.
Two women were injured in March and they say there were bullet casings all over the road.
People told CHCH News that they’d like to see more police in the area more often. Thompson said, “Patrol a little bit, just have some more presence. We’ve got a lot of break-ins. We’ve got a lot of problems in the neighbourhood lately and it would be wonderful if we had a little more support from the police and by a little I mean a lot.”
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Police are planning to build a new police station that will have more officers posted to Waterdown and Flamborough, but that isn’t expected for a couple of years.
In the meantime, police are trying to determine exactly what happened at the party, how many suspects there are and how many guns were used. They say there could be an update on the investigation on Tuesday.
