-from hamiltonspectator.com-

By Dana Borcea

Teen treated for gunshot wound

Hamilton police swept through a north-end housing survey Saturday looking for evidence in connection with a weekend shooting that sent a 19-year-old Hamilton man to hospital.

Central station Staff Sergeant Mark Simchison said police are investigating gang links and promised to increase police presence in the area in an effort to drive out criminals.

“If gangs want to operate in that complex, they can look forward to our officers coming in,” he said.

He added that there had been a recent spike in criminal activity in the public housing project north of Barton Street, bordered by James and MacNab streets.

Police said the shooting victim was brought to St. Joseph’s hospital at around 3 a.m. Saturday by taxi.

He was treated for a single gunshot wound to his abdomen and released.

Central Station Detective Bill Anderson said the victim may not have been the intended target.

“It may be a matter of an individual being at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said. “We don’t know if he was the one being shot at.”

Anderson added it was too early in the investigation to comment on a possible gang link, but didn’t rule it out.

On June 13, two men confronted a 20-year-old Hamilton man in the complex and shot him in the leg.

Police do not think that incident was connected to Saturday’s shooting.

Some residents in the area said they were not convinced their survey was falling prey to gangs, but most agreed two shootings in six weeks was alarming.

A mother of three said a police officer had come to her door a few days before Saturday’s shooting with a stern warning.

He told her police anticipated some kind of “retribution” after a fight between two groups.

“He said gangs were taking over the survey,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified.

She added she did not think the groups of youngsters loitering around the complex were gang-affiliated.

But resident Rafael Penado said the fact that neighbourhood troublemakers weren’t wearing gang colours did not mean they were not organized.

“It’s a business,” he said. “Gangs are not what they used to be, but it’s still all about drugs.”

The father of three recently moved into the public housing complex with his wife Carla Trickett.

Now the couple’s lease is the only thing tying them to the troubled survey.

“We heard it was a rough neighbourhood,” said Trickett. “But we were not expecting gangs and shootings.”

Another resident said the survey used to be Bloods territory but that they had been pushed out a few years ago.

The woman, who did not want to be identified, said she was getting ready for bed early Saturday morning when she heard the piercing sound of several gun shots.

“I just dropped down,” she said. “That’s what you do around here when your hear shots.”

She added that like many residents, she found the packs of youngsters hanging around the survey intimidating but added she was mostly powerless to act.

“You keep your head down and go inside when there is trouble,” she said.

She said that while she would welcome more police in the area she doubts she would co-operate with them.

“It’s not worth the risk,” she said.

Detective Sergeant Ted Davis, head of Hamilton’s guns and gangs unit, said police depend on information from residents and promised them anonymity.

“If people have information we will treat it as extremely confidential,” he said.

Davis said he was not aware of a gang presence in the survey, adding it was too early to comment on the cause of the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call either Detective Sergeant Davis at 905-546-3810 or Crime Stoppers at 905-522-8477.

dborcea@thespec.com

905-526-3214