THUNDER BAY - Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding a firearm-related homicide at an Amelia Street apartment complex on Thursday, which is the latest incident of gun violence in the city that has been increasing in recent weeks.
“We are concerned regarding the gun violence in our city,” said Thunder Bay Police Service Deputy Chief Ryan Hughes. “We’ve had five homicides this year and three attempts. In the last month we’ve had three homicides and two attempts, one of the homicides is firearms related and two of the attempts in the last month are firearms related so that is concerning for us.”
According to Hughes, the incident on Amelia Street in a second-floor unit at Spence Court is still under investigation with a post-mortem examination on the 31-year-old victim expected to take place on Friday afternoon. Police did say in a media release issued on Thursday that the victim died of apparent gunshot wounds.
The identity of the victim has not been released yet by police. However, TBNewswatch has learned through family social media channels his name is Conrad Joseph Bannon.
Because the investigation is still ongoing, Hughes was not able to comment if the Amelia Street homicide was directly related to the drug trade but he acknowledged the growing problem of drugs and trafficking in the city.
“There is a drug problem within our city,” he said. “We are highly aware of that. We see it every year. The investigators are still working on it. They are working with our drug unit and our intelligence unit to gather information regarding that.”
Hughes said there are more than 100 drug houses in the city and while police are aware of the majority of them and try to do enforcement, drug trafficking is a non-stop issue, due in part to gangs from Southern Ontario profiting from the high price illicit drugs sell for in parts of the north.
“Our main issue with the drugs is people from out of town,” he said. “They come up and sell the drugs, they use our local people to help them. As our officers arrest these drug dealers or commit criminal offences regarding firearms or drug issues, as soon as they go before the courts, other people from out of town come to take their place.”
And with the gangs and drugs also comes guns. This year alone, Thunder Bay Police have seized 17 firearms connected to the drug trade in the city.
Several shooting incidents have also taken place in the last month, including one early Friday morning on McTavish Street in the city’s East End.
There were no reports of injuries from the McTavish Street incident and while the gun violence is not random and primarily related to the drug trade, Hughes said there is still a concern for public safety.
“What is concerning for me and the officers and the staff here is if the intended target is not hit with a bullet who knows where it goes,” he said. “That’s what our concern is, the safety of the public and the safety of our officers dealing with these issues.”
Investigators are looking into the recent increase in violence and gun-related crimes in the city and according to Hughes, one of the contributing factors could be the lifting of numerous COVID-19 restrictions that is seeing more people becoming active in public again.
Police are also working with the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board regarding incidents taking place in social housing properties throughout the city, though Hughes said those properties are not unique when it comes to these issues.
“It doesn’t seem to matter what area it is,” he said. “I do realize that these out of town people, criminals, gang members, they do target our vulnerable populations. They will attempt to do home takeovers. Sometimes they are successful sometimes they are not, but we are seeing these issues all over the city.”
Anyone with information that could assist police in their investigations into the Amelia Street homicide or McTavish Street shooting is asked to contact Thunder Bay Police at 684-1200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com.
