Police were on the scene of a shooting Friday morning in central Hamilton.
One innocent bystander said they had a gun pointed directly at them. John Gavin was on his way to a building on Caroline Street for work when he witnessed the shooting.
“They fired their weapon this way and they come running towards me and I call 911 right away and they run past me and I follow them and turn the corner and that’s when they pointed the weapon at me too,” Gavin said.
Hamilton police say they found several shell casings where it happened and recovered bullets from a first-floor apartment and in a parked car.
No one was hurt and police say two groups and at least three men were involved in the gunfight.
Hamilton police say the shooting happened just past 11 a.m. Friday morning and it involved two groups.
Market and Caroline Streets are near residential apartments and even a retirement home.
Police say an apartment on the first floor of this building was hit with gunfire, but no one was home at the time.
A parked car was also hit.
Sgt. Steve Bereziuk said, “certainly it’s concerning, it does have the smell of a turf war of some sort at this time it’s large speculation I won’t suggest that’s evidence at this time.”
Police say the suspects fled on foot northbound on Caroline towards York Boulevard.
“At least three involved, three that I’m trying to narrow down suspect descriptions of. Those 3 appeared to be involved with at least one other person because it appears that there was exchange of gunfire meaning more than one shooter and group shooting back at each other,” Sgt. Bereziuk said.
Gavin provided descriptions of the suspects, but police have not confirmed these details yet. “Two young black males, two black hoodies, black masks, dark pants, dark shoes and one had a blue baseball cap.”
This incident is one of many shootings in the city this year, as police try to crack down on the problem.
There have been 24 shootings in the city this year, twice as many compared to the same time last year.
The motive for this shooting is still unclear. Police are still investigating and anyone with information is asked to contact them.
