Hamilton police respond to shooting outside ‘open-air drug bazaar’

Hamilton Police Service responded to a shooting early Thursday morning just outside of what local reports are calling an “open-air drug bazaar.”

Source: Facebook

Hamilton Police Service responded to a shooting early Thursday morning just outside of what local reports are calling an “open-air drug bazaar.”

According to an early morning announcement, Hamilton police responded to an alleged shooting that occurred at a business in the area of Main Street East and East Avenue South in downtown Hamilton.

Police said multiple shots were fired during the incident, which resulted in a male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

The victim has been transported to hospital and their injuries are non-life threatening.

The investigation into a “number of suspects” remains ongoing.

According to local reports, the shooting took place a block away from an open-air drug bazaar that police broke up last December.

Local reports go on to suggest the same area has been “the subject of numerous community complaints because of drug dealing and petty crime” along with “evidence that underage kids were being used as drug mules.”

Hamilton experienced a record-high 60 shootings last year.

There have been at least two other reported shootings in the same area since 2023 — including one that struck an innocent bystander.
At least one bystander has already been killed by a stray bullet this year — the tragic death of Harsimrat Randhawa, who was shot just weeks ago while she stood near a bus stop at the intersection of Upper James Street and South Bend Road in Hamilton.