19-year-old Peel man dead after 'melee' on Hamilton Mountain: police

Hamilton police say a 19-year-old man from the Peel region was stabbed to death during an early morning "melee" between dozens of men in a plaza on the escarpment.

Det.-Sgt. Peter Thom with Hamilton Police Service told media two groups, one from the Peel region and one from Hamilton, met in the parking lot of a strip mall at 310 Limeridge Road West at roughly 1.a.m. on Sunday. The plaza includes a Big Bee Food Mart.

The groups, mainly made up of young men, met to discuss an ongoing conflict. Thom did not reveal what the issue was but said it should not have led to what happened in the parking lot.

"The individuals from the Peel region showed up in two vehicles and at that time they were swarmed by about 20 or 30 from the Hamilton group," Thom explained.

"There were weapons used — knives, sticks, pipes and the mention of a Taser even being used as well."

He said two people were stabbed and one person had a head injury. All of them, from Peel, went to hospital and are recovering from injuries. One of them had surgery.

Video from the scene also shows the cars, a blue Ford Mustang and a white sedan, being battered before people begin to scatter and run away from the lot. One of the men who fled, a 19-year-old from Peel, was stabbed and dropped dead behind the Kilkenny Castle, a nearby apartment. His body was taken to Toronto for autopsy and his family is being notified of his death.

Thom said members of the Hamilton group then got in the cars and began speeding around the lot with them.

Video shows the white sedan zooming around the lot and barrelling through two people, sending them airborne. They both hit the ground hard before fleeing the scene. Thom said investigators believe they are from the Hamilton group and are likely suffering serious injuries, but haven't been identified.

At 5 a.m., Thom said the Peel group told police one of their members was missing. It prompted Hamilton police to discover the crime scene, search the area and eventually find the dead 19-year-old.

"This is a tragedy, something that got absolutely out of control that should never have happened," Thom said.

No one has been charged yet, but Thom noted no one in the Peel group was known to police. He couldn't say the same for the members of the Hamilton group, which police are still trying to identify. Thom said the Hamilton police isn't having Peel police help solve the case.

Some debris and what appeared to be car parts were scattered around the parking lot in the aftermath. Skid marks were also seen in the lot. The blue Ford Mustang sat in the parking lot with an open driver-side door. Its back window was shattered.

Resident saw dead body behind apartment

Tanya Woodburn lives in the building. She said she heard the sirens at 5 a.m. and then saw something grisly out her apartment window.

"I saw someone laying in the corner [behind my apartment] ... I looked over to where the ambulance was and saw a white t-shirt and then I saw two cops running toward them and then they were talking and put the white sheet over him," she told CBC News.

She said this isn't the first shooting in the area. A vehicle was shot in the same plaza back in February.

Others in the area told CBC News they didn't hear or see anything.

Jiju Varghese was watering plants nearby. He didn't notice anything, but said the scene has him worried. Especially for his son.

"He has special needs and so he needs to be supported all the time. I don't know what's happening ... I'm concerned."

This is the second homicide in Hamilton this week. 

Myah Larmond, 17, was shot to death early Wednesday morning while inside a home on St. Matthews Avenue.