THUNDER BAY – A Toronto man was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries on Thursday night and no suspects have yet been taken into custody following a shooting incident on Archibald Street on Thunder Bay’s south side.
Thunder Bay Police said the major crimes unit has been on scene since the incident was first reported and urged anyone with any information to come forward, as neither a suspect nor the weapon used in the shooting has been recovered.
It’s the third shooting incident in Thunder Bay in less than a week.
Police on Monday reported separate incidents on Saturday night on Gore Street West and on Sunday night on Limbrick Street.
Det.-Insp. John Fennell said police at this time cannot rule out the possibility all three incidents are connected, though on Friday afternoon he stopped short of making that connection at this time.
Regardless, Fennell said, three shooting incidents in such a short period are troubling.
“Historically firearms were quite a rare event in Thunder Bay. It’s now that we’re dealing with them on a very regular basis,” Fennell said, adding that police, in particular the drug unit, is regularly seizing firearms of late, including handguns, large-capacity magazines and semi-automatic weapons, all related to other criminal activity in the city.
“A lot of it is being influenced by southern Ontario, which is extra concerning. I’ll say that it’s a national problem, but particularly Thunder Bay has escalated greatly in the last two years as well,” Fennell said.
Police were unable to say if the victim was known to police at this time. They also did not name the victim.
The original police release follows:
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a serious assault that occurred on that city’s south side Thursday evening.
Members of the Thunder Bay Police Service’s Uniform Patrol Branch were dispatched to a disturbance in the 400 block of Archibald Street South just after 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 6. Members of the Emergency Task and Break and Enter and Robbery (BEAR) Units were also called to the scene.
Police learned a Toronto man was transported to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre for further evaluation and treatment of his serious injuries. Those injuries are believed to have been sustained during an assault.
Further investigation revealed a firearm was involved in this incident.
Members of the TBPS’s Major Crimes Unit and Forensic Identification Unit are now involved in the investigation.
If you have any information that could assist investigators please call police at 684-1200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, online at www.p3tips.com.
