York police await autopsy results in prom after-party homicide

Investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy on a male victim shot to death at a prom after-party in Whitchurch-Stouffville, York police said Saturday. 

The victim's name and age have not been released.

Staff Sgt. Aaron Busby, duty inspector for York Regional Police, said homicide detectives are continuing to gather evidence from a large home at 6336 Bloomington Road E., east of Ninth Line, where the shooting occurred.

"This is still very early on. Officers are still there investigating this incident. We are waiting for a post-mortem to be completed on the victim," Busby said.

Police update expected Monday

Busby said police hope to provide an update on the case on Monday. Police have said the home was rented out on Airbnb. In a statement, a spokesperson for Airbnb said the listing has been removed. 

Police were called to the residence shortly after 4 a.m. Friday for a weapons call. When officers arrived, they found the male dead from what appeared to be a gunshot wound.

"Preliminary information indicates that there may have been a party that had taken place at the residence that had been rented out for the night and it is believed that there were many people in attendance at the time of the shooting who left prior to police arrival," police said in a news release.

About half hour after officers arrived at the home on Bloomington Road E., police were called to another residence several kilometres away on Bethesda Side Road. A caller reported that two teens had been knocking on doors in the area and asking homeowners to call them a taxi. 

Police found the pair hiding in bushes. They were both arrested and a handgun was found nearby. 

Busby cautioned that investigators have not connected the two occurrences and they may be unrelated. 

"It's still too early to tell whether or not the two individuals that were arrested in the other incident in relation to firearms offences is connected to the homicide. We have no information to suggest that they are at this point," Busby said. 

"Being so early in the investigation, we are not able to say whether these two incidents are connected."

The charges facing a Richmond Hill boy, 16, and a Newmarket boy, 17, include:

• Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm.
• Possession of prohibited firearm with ammunition.
• Firearm — tampering with a serial number.
• Breach of recognizance.

Both teens appeared in a Newmarket courtroom on Friday.

Police are continuing to appeal to members of the public to come forward if they saw or heard anything in relation to the homicide.

Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Iain Lovatt posted a message to residents on Facebook, asking anyone with information speak up. 

"If your kids or anyone they know were at this house party, please reach out to YRP [York Regional Police] as they are seeking to speak with anyone who may have been there, seen or heard anything," he wrote. 

The town is a "safe community," the incident is isolated and "not reflective" of its residents, he added.