Man dead, Edmonton police investigate downtown shooting
CBC News | Posted: November 5, 2014 1:29 PM | Last Updated: November 5, 2014
Homicide detectives at Papyrus Lounge
A 31-year-old man is dead after a shooting at the Papyrus Lounge at the corner of 112 Street and 107th Avenue just after midnight last night.
“It’s scary and it’s over and over again it’s happening, it really throws you off,” said Douglas Rusk, who lives across the street from the lounge.
When police arrived at the lounge in the Queen Mary Park, they found a man dead on the floor of the club, “who appeared to have sustained at least one gun-shot wound,” according to a press release issued by the Edmonton police.
The victim's name had not been released by late Wednesday afternoon, but CBC News has learned he had a minor drug-related record with a two convictions five years ago.
Rusk told CBC News there have been other shootings in the area in the last three months.
“All of sudden, it’s just been rowdy,” he said. “They shot up those windows three times in eight weeks.”
“I live right there, my front bedroom window faces that bar window so it’s a little bit unnerving to see this has happened so many times in a row.”
Rusk said the Papyrus Lounge was shut down, but re-opened about a week ago. He said police woke him up at 2:30 a.m by knocking on his door, wondering if he’d heard or seen anything.
Police say they are looking for a black man in his mid-20s, about 6’3” tall with a beard and scars on his neck.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning to confirm the cause of death and the identity of the man who died.
Three years ago, the Papyrus was at the centre of another homicide investigation. On January 1, 2011, Mohamud Mohamed Jama, 23, was shot in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day.
A second man, who had also been shot, was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No charges have been laid in that case.